In three pieces
by esama
Summary: ABANDONED. Tale of three musical geniuses, Mutô Yugi, Pharaoh Atemu and Namonaki Yami. Alternate Universe
1. Prologue

**In three pieces**

**Prologue**

Yugi had been shy for so long that he could barely remember not being one, so long that his own laugh could be nothing but a distant memory of a fading dream.

Everyone knew that the reason for it was because Yugi wasn't that popular around his school. Due to his shortage in height, he was easy to bully and the other boys of his age had noticed this long ago - he had been bullied already in kindergarten, in preschool. Again for so long that he couldn't really remember a time when he hadn't been bullied. He also couldn't remember ever having friends - with the biggest kids bullying him, no one dared to make friends with him, fearing that they would end up like him.

The bullying lasted from preschool to primary school and finally into high school, and still he has no friends. By high school, though, he was already so adjusted to it that he no longer really minded - it was just how his life was. Even though he was shy and bullied, it didn't mean that he didn't enjoy his life otherwise - and what made him enjoy his life was his secret, his secret for eight years. Music.

Without a teacher and without notes, he had been practicing playing for eight years, over half of his short life. First in his grandfather's music store, then in the unused music room of primary school and then in the similarly abandoned music room of his high school. In free periods, moments after school, mostly even in his lunch breaks, he snuck into his secret hideout, stroked his short fingers over the key's of dusty piano, neck of badly scratched guitar, violin, cello… anything and everything that made a beautiful sound when he paid attention to them.

It wasn't warm like human compassion could've been, it wasn't nice like real friend, but music was all he had and it was more than enough.

-

Atemu had always been lonely in his life, even when he had dozens, hundreds and thousands of people around him he as alone. Whilst he had a beautiful smile that breathed warmth, inside he was almost indifferent and faking it all. While he seemed like he had everything he could ever want, he really wanted nothing he had and what he wanted was always out of his reach.

When he had been a child his mother and father had doted him and showed him off to their friends. Already back then he had always felt like he was a doll and not really a real human being, just something to show off to other people. When he was with the children of the friends of his parents, he felt out of place and the fact that the children were either awed of him or plain hated him didn't help. When he went to school and the girls started to hang around him, trying to get themselves a place by his side, he rather found his way into the dark corners and spend his time there alone, knowing that they only wanted his looks, not his heart.

Even when he graduated and was scouted as a model for his otherworldly looks and incredible skills in dancing, he still wasn't happy. He felt more alone in the high pedestal of an super model than he had ever felt before. In that high pedestal he was only loved for his looks and for his faked expressions. Only when he shut the world out and turned the music on, when he let his body almost mindlessly follow the beat and dance to his hearts content, he was truly at peace and almost happy

-

Yami was a cold young man, known to be very rude and for his almost cruel nature. He was almost as known for never smiling as he was for his incredible voice.

When he had been a small boy, he had been abandoned into a poor orphanage. There he had lived for most of his youth; because no one had wanted a child whose only expressions were frown and almost insane smirk. As a small child he had been shunned by the other kids in the orphanage because of his outspoken nature and his almost arrogant behaviour. He had never been able to be kind or gentle and never been able to see the good sides on humans, only the bad ones and those didn't call forth a smile.

When he went to school and was taught some children's songs, he found for the first time a peace - when he left his voice flow he could forget the flow of the world, forget the fact that he couldn't lie even to please someone, forget that he couldn't soften the blows his acerbic tongue could make. Forget that he had no friends and no one to love him. He concentrated onto singing all through his few school years, never truly making it to high school. When only singing could bring him peace, what were academics like History, English and Math to him? Only singing mattered.

Inside he knew that he was very lucky to be scouted and made solo singer by the Millennium Item Company, but even when they dressed him prettily, gave him the lyrics and the microphone, and placed him before large crowd where he could sing till his throat was sore, he couldn't even smile. Even though he could forget everything when his voice shouted out, he couldn't lie to himself and say that this was true happiness.

---


	2. I Chapter

**I chapter**

Mokuba hid his grimace behind the ice-cream he had just bought. He really didn't like these school festivals at all. Too many people cramped up in one place. Usually he could handle great crowds and masses, but it was somehow harder with no one by his side - no big brother and no bodyguards. Besides, these people didn't even know who he was and he didn't know them, which made it all more annoying. They bumped and ran into him and never once apologized.

The young Kaiba sighed and licked the melting ice-cream to drown his annoyance into the sweetness of it. Well, that was just how it had to be this time - and many, many other times. Big brother was busy at the company, too busy to attend pathetic thing like school festival, so Mokuba had to do it instead. On certain levels he really didn't mind - it was for Seto and Seto had asked him personally, so it was special. He would get paid double for these kind of things. And he wouldn't have to deal with those annoying… little… pop stars who thought too highly of themselves. But then again, he had to venture here so they could find more annoying little pop stars.

He sighed. As Vice President of the Kaiba Records he could understand it more than well, the need for those pretty teen idols who had sweet voices, trimmed bodies and who giggled way too much for comfort. Sweet giggling teen-princesses sold, and the company needed to sell in order to live. Each year needed a new group of teen idols, just in case people got tired with the last years group. It was simply the matter of that.

And as Kaiba he knew that _he_ had to do it. It was both matter of a certain Kaiba instinct as it was the matter of knowing his brother. These teen idols were important, so important that Seto would not trust the job of scouting for a perfect group into some minor scout, no. Teen-princesses were hard to scout, strangely enough, and only Seto himself or Mokuba could do that. They were the only ones who weren't fooled by pretty faces and those underdressed trimmed bodies. They were the only ones who truly understood that outer perfection was far from enough - neither was good voice or sense of rhythm.

Mokuba stretched his free hand and looked lazily around in the festivals. Music, games, food, so forth and so forth, usual kind of school festival. Licking on the ice-cream, the young Vice President of one of the largest record companies around tried to find the stage. The girls he had come to see would be performing later and he would see if they were any good. Some Seto's old partner had pointed them out as worthy of looking into - the old geezer had daughter in the group, which meant that the man had probably praised them bit too highly. Still, they needed to find new idol, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

Checking that he had the recorder he always carried around while scouting, Mokuba decided to ask around. Someone here was bound to know where the stage was. Nearest of the booths was a gaming booth, so he decided to head to it and ask the brown haired girl who seemed to be managing the booth. "Hey, could you tell me where the stage is?"

"The stage? It's on the other side of the school," the girl said and frowned, pointing towards the entrance doors of the school building. "You can get there by either going through the school or going around. I would go through, it's quicker and I won't get caught in the crowd around the Okonomiyaki booth, it's right there and you would have to walk pass it to get to the back," the girl smiled. "The school should be almost empty so you won't get caught in crowd there."

"Oh. Okay, thanks," Mokuba smiled to the girl and then headed for the entrance. That girl had been pretty polite. If the girls performing would be anything like her, maybe they had a chance.

Inside the school was, like the girl at the carnival game booth had said, rather empty. There were few people there, walking in or out, probably getting something for the booths or something, but that was it. most of the people were out. Mokuba looked at his wristwatch. There was still hour left before the girls would perform, at least according to the leaflet they had given at the entrance. He could in the mean time search for a bathroom and wash his hands, they were all sticky because of the ice-cream. He loved ice-cream dearly, but it always got his hands sticky.

But where was the nearest bathroom? Just when he was about to ask someone, there was no one in the hall where he stood looking around and trying to find the restroom. Nothing. Frowning he turned around, let his eyes wander and tried to see... but there was no sing anywhere telling about place where he could wash his sticky hands. It got him annoyed. Seto had taught him to hate dirt, and the sticky hands were now really ticking him off.

"Restroom, restroom," the young Kaiba murmured and decided that he had plenty of time to search for one. In a big school like this there tended to be restroom almost at every corner, right? But no, in the corridor where he headed there seemed to be none. Neither was in the next one. Only closed doors of classrooms, storages and offices. No bathroom.

Really starting to get annoyed, Mokuba headed up one staircase, hoping that there would be bathroom in the second floor. To his great annoyance, it was dark and he couldn't see anything. He was just about to turn around and return to the first floor, when he heard something.

Somewhere in this dark floor, someone was playing piano.

Mokuba blinked slowly. Then, curiosity of scout raising its head in his mind, he took hesitating step forward. The producer in him told him to go forward and check this musician out, see if they were any good. The dark corridor didn't seem that dark now when his curiosity had been roused, either.

Then Mokuba noticed it, sign of men's restroom just near by. He visited it just quickly enough to wash his hands and then headed towards the sound of the piano. The closer he got the more interested he became. The music was strange, not something he had heard before, and he had heard his share of music - he had to know the ins and outs of music business to run it while his brother wasn't there to do it. This music was… fresh, strange and somehow beaconing. Like spark of light in pitch-black place. While these traits usually weren't the ones he looked for in music - he wanted clear beat, nice rhythm and a melody one could hum - he found himself enjoying this music. If there was a word for it, it was simply haunting.

The music was coming from one of the classrooms - the door was handing slightly open due to broken lock and handle. It looked quite abandoned even though he didn't see inside yet - everyone knew that you didn't hold anything valuable in room which had broken door, not in a city like this one. There was light in the room, but it was dim, like it was just a simple desk light instead of the usual very bright ceiling lights classrooms had.

Mokuba stopped by the door and just listened as the mystery person played. He felt like he was sinking into the music and the haunting melody which was so strange and foreign was painting pictures to him. Pictures of painful fairytales and tragic fantasies where the main character succumbed at the end. And somehow, the melody wasn't sad at all. It wasn't happy and it wasn't sad. It was neutral, realistic, and truthful. It was like history book that hadn't been decorated by sweet lies - it told things as they were and didn't wrap tem in beautiful dreams. It was like the one who had written this melody was looking the world through clear class, seeing both ups and downs and spreading them open before you just like they were.

The young producer shook his head to clear it off from the strange thoughts he was getting. Only very rarely had Mokuba felt like this, only very rarely could music make him think like this. Usually when he heard music it was either good or bad, haunting was not in his scale of criticism and this was just that. Last time music had been able to make him criticise it out his scales it had been famous Nameless Shadow, Namonaki Yami. And the criticism had been simply dazed _holy hell…_

Shaking his head again, Mokuba bowed his head a bit as the music continued and continued, staying in the same mood and emotion but changing and chancing and changing, not holding any kind of pattern or rhythm. He started to slowly understand that it wasn't a song, it wasn't a melody. Someone, who knew the ways of the piano so well that the piano was part of him like his voice and his sight, was playing their mind out. It was like pondering through melody, aimless and strange.

His eyes widened. Everyone needed notes, he argued himself. Everyone from beginners to masters needed notes to make music like this - and this had no notes, it wasn't even jamming. It was just like someone could sing a wordless song without reshaped melody or pattern, this person was playing without notes or plan. He was making up what he was playing in the very instant he was touching the keys. Well, everyone could do that, but this person made it sound damn good!

Again shaking his head, Mokuba narrowed his eyes and quickly took the recorder he had in his pocket, turning it on. He had came to scout for the girls, but if this person was what he thought they were, then he was worthy enough to take back a tape for his brother. He still needed to know more about this player's skills, first.

Carefully Mokuba knocked the door, putting on his most innocent expressions. The music stopped like it had been cut by a knife. "Excuse me…" he said, opening the door and peaking carefully in. "I got lost here, and couldn't help but hear your beautiful playing…" he trailed away, staring at the person who had been playing.

It was a little kid, couldn't be order than twelve! The small boy was sitting at old looking piano, wearing the Domino High School uniform. He had black bandana covering most of his hair, and his eyes were covered by golden bangs so that Mokuba couldn't see them - the hair had to be dyed, no one had that colour hair naturally.

The boy stared at Mokuba through the golden bangs, and then gasped, standing up, stuttering. "I-I-I…" he was trying to say. "I'm sorry!" he suddenly bowed deep. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to, I mean, I… um… I'll leave!"

"Er…" Mokuba blinked with confusion. "Huh? Leave? Why? Did I bother you? I'm the one who should be sorry; I bothered you when you were playing."

"Uh…" the kid with golden bangs looked at him, then at the piano, then at him again. "I, uh…" he stumbled away from the piano like it was suddenly made of poison or something. "I just tried the keys, I uh, it was nothing, really, I… I should leave…"

Mokuba was now really confused. The kid, who ever he was, was very… timid was the word. It was strange. Usually people with talent were confident and strong. Could it be that the haunting melody that had no melody in it the kid had created had been nothing but a fluke? No, Mokuba would not believe that. No fluke, no luck could lead to such thing - and the kid had been playing for minutes and minutes.

"Relax," Mokuba said with as calming voice as he could manage. He stepped into the room, causing the boy _squeak_ slightly, and step back. "Hey, calm down, I'm not going to harm you or anything. I just wanted to hear you play, that's all."

"Why? It isn't anything special; I was just trying… uh…." The kid stepped back again, putting his hands behind back as if to protect them. He bowed his head slightly, slouched his shoulders and his little face was almost entirely hidden underneath the golden bangs and their shadows.

"Please?" Mokuba asked. "It was really pretty."

"No, no," the short kid shook his head. "It wasn't."

Feeling that trying to lure the boy into playing wasn't going to work, Mokuba decided to try and calm him down. "How about we introduce ourselves? I'm Mokuba. I'm here to check out your schools festival. I was trying to find a bathroom when I heard you play."

"There's one in the corridor," the boy pointed to the door with shaking hand before quickly pulling the hand back to behind his back - to safety. He was biting his lip now. It seemed like he was almost terrified by Mokuba.

"Yeah, I visited before I came here. What's your name?"

"Uh…. Mu-Mutô Yugi," the boy said, blushing a bit and bowing his head slightly. Mokuba frowned. It was like the boy was ashamed of his name. Was he supposed to know it or something? He had never heard of it - or if he had, he couldn't remember.

"Okay, Mutô Yugi-kun," Mokuba said in calm, soothing tone, trying to get the fidgeting boy to calm down while wondering how such a young kid was doing in a high school uniform? He was way too young to be in a high school - unless he was older than he looked or child genius. Both seemed unlikely, though. "Would you play for me? Please?"

"I… don't…" the kid murmured, with a deep blush.

"Just one song, please?"

The kid bit his lip, glanced around the room as if looking for a hiding place or way to escape. There was loads of instruments around in the room, guitars, violins, cellos, flutes… they all looked like they had seen their best days long, long ago. "Well…" he murmured, when he didn't find way to hide or escape. "Maybe… one…" he glanced at Mokuba, then at the piano, and hesitatingly walked back to the bench, and sat down.

Mokuba watched him intently, while he rested his fingers on the keys. He wasn't sure what he expected, part of him wanted to hear something amazing and mind blowing, another part was telling him that the boy couldn't play and would play something silly like "Mary had a little lamp".

The kid started playing by pressing a single key slowly with his right hand forefinger, the sound echoing into the distance. Mokuba was already filling with disappointment, when the boy pressed another key - again with his right hand forefinger. Those two notes didn't really fit together, and the producer started to feel more and more disappointed and annoyed at himself. Why was he wasting time here?

And then Yugi started to play - with both hands and with all ten fingers. Slow melody, note after note in a lulling melody, no less haunting than the one before, but much more beautiful with clearer melody, clearer rhythm. Slow at first, the melody was like a lullaby, somehow familiar yet he was sure he had never heard it before. Then the melody started to pick up pace - so slowly that he hardly noticed it happen until he realised that he could hardly differ the notes from one an another - and that all ten fingers Yugi owned were flying on the keys, the movement so fast that it was blurry. And it was still beautiful, still haunting though now there was unbelievable desperation in the music. Graving, loneliness, pain… need, simple and sorrowful need.

Mokuba could hardly breathe ad the boys melody took a sudden turn and started to quiet down, suddenly and still so softly that it was almost surprise when it really quieted down until Yugi was playing only with his left hand on the lower notes, his head bowed and right hand resting on his right thigh. The music was finished with Yugi's nimble, though short, fingers climbing slowly but steadily towards the higher notes, and there it ended. Like howl and roar ending with a whimper and whine.

It had felt like small moment, but Mokuba knew that the kid had been playing at least for minutes. Yugi, blushing badly under he golden bangs, looked at him with his head bowed, hiding his expressions. "How… how was it?"

"Wow," Mokuba murmured, dazed. "That was really… wow. How long have you been playing?"

"Uh…" The kid turned to look at the piano again, his talented fingers carefully stroking the partially broken keys that time had turned yellow. "Almost eight years," he murmured.

"No wonder you're good!" Mokuba thought quickly. Eight years, was that possible? If the kid was about twelve that mean that he had been playing since he had been four years old? That didn't really make sense. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen in this summer," Yugi said, absently pressing some keys. Playing had clearly calmed him down a lot.

He's older than I am! Mokuba blinked. Then… Yugi had been playing since he had been seven years old? It was still a lot. "What was that you played? I've never heard it before."

"I, uh, I made it up," the boy with golden bangs shrugged his shoulders before slumping them down again, slouching a bit. "A while ago."

"You compose too?" If Yugi had that kind of talent in composing, then… wow. "Wow, you must be really talented."

"I'm not," the boy murmured. "I-I just play for fun now and t-then, tha-that's all…"

"Do you know how to play any other instrument?" Mokuba asked eagerly.

"Uh…" the boy glanced at something, looking almost guilty, and Mokuba quickly followed his gaze.

Near the piano there were some instruments that didn't look like they hadn't been thrown there just so that they were out of the way, no. These ones looked like they had been recently tented and looked after - they had been recently used too. Nearest of them was guitar that had many scratched on it, but looked like it had been recently tuned. "You can play guitar too? Can I hear? Please, pretty please?"

"Uh… I-I guess it's okay…" Yugi stood up slowly and walked to the guitar. He took it gently into his hand and sat back to the bench before the piano, setting the guitar into his lap. And again, after moment of hesitation, Mokuba was blown away.

Yugi played guitar differently than he played piano, but with same skill and same perfection. He _knew_ the ins and outs of the strings in so high level, that when the guitar was in his lap, it was part of him, just like the piano had been. The melody was different one, one perfect only or guitar, but it had similar load of emotions in it and it similarly made on think about many things. It was beautiful, haunting and it took all Mokuba's attention. Amazing was the word for it.

_We need to have this guy_, Mokuba thought to himself. If they wouldn't scout Mutô Yugi, someone else would and someone else would make millions with his skills. The boy was no teen idol, no group of trimmed teen-princesses, but none the less, he would become world class star. Even at this level he could've been placed before the worlds most critical masses and they would've worshiped him.

When Yugi started to quiet the melody down, his fingers no longer ravishing the strings like they had but only idly playing with them, Mokuba coughed and spoke. "I suspect you plan on being a musician?"

"M-musician?" Yugi bowed his head with a blush. "Me? N-no, I don't… I'm not… I'm…"

"With that kind of skill you could make it to the top," Mokuba said, shaking his head. "You could make it way pass the top. Surely you've thought about it."

"I haven't… it's just a hobby, that's all…" the short boy hiding behind his golden bangs murmured, bowing his head further to hide his features. "J-just a hobby," he put the guitar away, and stood up, looking a bit anxious. "I, um… uh, can I go… go now?" he stammered.

Mokuba blinked and then frowned. Yugi was so nervous that speaking to him about recording and becoming an world class musician wasn't really good at this point - the teen would only get more and more nervous. "You go to this school?" the young Kaiba asked, knowing that he would need that information in order to see Yugi again - if his brother deemed the boy worthy.

"Yeah, I'm-I'm in second year…" Yugi nodded and fidgeted his hands a bit. "Can I go? Ple-please…"

"Yeah, I'm not keeping you here," and the boy with a black scarf and dyed hair was out almost like flash, leaving Mokuba alone in the abandoned music room. The young producer listened to the hurried steps echoing in the corridor for a moment, before walking to the piano and looking at the instruments beside it. Two flutes, violin, cello and the guitar Yugi had just played. They weren't as dusty as the rest of the things in the room. Had Yugi played them all, could Yugi play them all?

Turning the recorder off, Mokuba clenched his hands into fists, the group of girls entirely forgotten. They really needed to scout that teen, that Mutô Yugi. If his instincts weren't entirely wrong, and they rarely were, Yugi was one of the few in the world - a genius.

-

Kaiba Seto leaned his chin into his joined hands while he was slightly frowning, his eyes closed, listening to the tape that Mokuba was playing for him. While frown, as an expression, was easy to read, Seto had so many different frowns that boy standing before him wasn't sure if he had done well or worse.

When the younger of the Kaiba brothers had said that he had _forgotten_ all about the girls he had supposed to go and check out, Seto had been more than surprised. Mokuba, despite being only fourteen, was a producer just like him and simply did not _forget_ things like that. Especially when they needed new group of idols to emerge - and make top sells. Just about when Seto had been planning on punishing his forgetful brother in some way, Mokuba had turned his recorder on and played the music that had made him forget all about it.

First piano. Then guitar. Both played perfectly by single person - and Seto, until this day, had never thought _anyone_ could play any instrument _perfectly_, maybe well and nicely, but never _perfectly_. This kid, this Mutô Yugi, could. And Mokuba had assumption that the sixteen-year-old could play other instruments as well.

The president of the Kaiba Records frowned more deeply, listening to the music as intently as only producer could. He tried to hear flaws, he desperately wanted to hear flaws, and there just wasn't any. The beat, rhythm, sheer emotion… even though he wasn't the greatest fan of haunting melodies, these ones were simply… amazing.

Finally, when the music ended and they could hear the conversation Mokuba had had with Yugi, the president opened his eyes and looked at his vice president. "This kid," he said darkly. He didn't like geniuses - mostly because the only two _true_ musical geniuses he knew, Namonaki Yami and Pharaoh Atemu, weren't _his_ - but this was change he could not let pass. "He will be ours. You did well, Mokuba."

Mokuba smiled widely and nodded, turning the record off. "Thank you, big brother."

---

I'll admit right here that I know very little about music or music business. So, if anyone wants to offer some help please do, I think I'm going to need it. And yes, this will probably be Yugi/Yami/Atem with Yugi being the main character. There might be some Seto/Seth, Bakura/Ryô (or possibly Thief King/Bakura/Ryô just because I've never seen it done) and Mahaado/Mana also but I'm not sure yet.

I apologise for the grammer and reviews are much appreciated


	3. II Chapter

**II chapter**

Good week after the school festival, Yugi walked through the corridors of the Domino High School, thanking any god out there with all his heart. He was thanking the gods for two things. First, Ushio had skipped classes. Second, there is some event in the town which was the main event of the week, and had everyone talking and spreading rumours in the school. Together these two things meant that he was mostly left alone that day and no one paid attention to him as he walked near the wall with his shoulders hunched.

Even though he usually ignored everything that went on in the world - knowing that no matter how on top of things he was, it never mattered - this time he was slightly curious. The entire female population of the school was talking about this event, and the guys, wanting to stay in good sides of the girls, followed the example. It still had to be something big, nothing but something big had girls like Anzu and Miho gossiping like that.

Still, no matter how curious he was and no matter how he wanted to know to what he owed his thanks to, Yugi stayed quiet and didn't ask anyone. No one would've answered or if they had, it would've been something scornful and hurtful. To a small fry like he, who was the main meal of every bully in the entire school, no one talked intentionally, even the teachers avoided talking to him in order to not piss of Ushio, Jonouchi and Honda.

Yugi shook his head and walked to his locker. He sighed at the sight of it. Among all the hundreds of lockers in the entire school, his was the most mutilated. People had the tendency of using it for target practice and for art form called graffiti. It was scribbled, scratched and punched so badly that it had started to look like modern art - though the huge letters of word 'freak' didn't make it a nice sculpture.

With the locker's lock long ago broken, Yugi could open it simply by pulling - though the bend hinges did give some trouble. He sighed at the sight of things inside the locker - someone had poured soda on his books, again. Still, they were the only books he had, so he gathered them to his pack no matter how sticky and wet they were, before closing the beaten locker door and heading away again.

Looking at his wrist watch, Yugi decided that he had the time to visit the abandoned music room in second floor - place where no one ever went to because in that floor there was damage from the last year's fire and the classrooms had mildew that had made many student sick in last years. Hurrying onwards as indistinctively as possible, he walked across the corridor and to the stairs leading to the second floor.

He didn't notice that he had brown haired young man following him.

The second floor corridor was empty, like it always was, and the music room door was ajar, like it always was. Yugi hurriedly sneaked in and looked around in the room smiling. It was dusty, most of the instruments there were broken and off-key, the ceiling had charcoal stains here and there and the windows were darkened by dirt. He loved the place most in the entire school. Ushio with his asthma, Honda with his dirt phobia and Jonouchi with his fear of having to go into hospital for catching the same illness that had sent many students there, could not come into this room. This was the only place where he was safe.

Yugi himself had nothing to be afraid of the mildew. He had very high immunity towards these things. He always suspected that it had something to do with the fact that he had gotten beaten already when he had been barely four, but he just never got sick for any reason.

With half an hour time to play something, Yugi mused on the choice of instrument for a while. He had been playing piano and guitar a lot lately, so maybe something else was in order, just for the sake of change. He let his gaze wonder on the instruments he had managed to get into state in which they could be played, and decided that he hadn't played cello in a while.

Taking the scratched cello that had only hint of its polish left and the bow that really had seen better days, Yugi sat to the piano chair and made himself comfortable. Putting his school back aside he settled the cello between his knees, and took the bow into his right hand.

He didn't think when started to play. He could play from memory the songs he had heard and the songs he had invented, but he liked to play the most when he simply let go and didn't think about anything. All faded to the background - the bullying and all the troubles he had in his life. For a moment nothing mattered. The cello became part of his body, extension of his flesh, and the bow was part of his hand just like his fingers and his palm. Connected to the wood, metal and strings in the deepest level, he simply played his soul out - almost literally.

Closing his eyes, the bow moving gently over the strings and simply playing out the indifferent sadness in his heart, Yugi didn't notice that the door to the music room was opened carefully and brown haired man stepped in. The man, dressed into simple school uniform not exactly like the one of Domino High but close enough to pass as one, leaned onto the door frame with a small tape recorder in his hand, taping the music Yugi was playing.

Leaning his cheek against the neck of the instrument, Yugi sighed quietly and bowed his head, before turning it a bit to the right side. He usually didn't think much about his hair, the golden bangs which he had brushed over his eyes and most of his face and which were kept there tightly by the black scarf which main purpose of existing was to hide rest of Yugi's hair from curious eyes. However, while playing cello, they could sometimes touch the strings and get into his way that way. It was the only at such times he though about brushing them back from his face, but he never did. He hadn't really shown his face to anyone in years.

With the memory of the day when he had decided to hide his face behind his golden bangs, the music deepened and got a rough tone, almost violent. It lasted only for a moment before he forced the feeling of bitterness to back to the place where all the rest of his bend up emotions were hidden - the indifferent shyness taking over again, changing the music into gentle and haunting. He didn't want to feel bitter. It wasn't a nice emotion.

After he had played for a while, minutes, a soft cough made him play a dissonant, and end the music abruptly. Shocked of the interruption - no one ever came to these part of the school - Yugi looked up through the layer of golden hair, and saw the man watching him.

His breath hitched and he stood up, the cello falling to the floor with a loud sound. He knew the man, _everyone_ in Domino knew that man. Kaiba Seto, the president of Kaiba Records. Shocked and partially terrified, Yugi stood frozen, and wondered what man like him was doing in a place like this? Kaiba was millionaire, producer of some of the most popular idols around! He made headlines almost every day! Why on earth was he here?!

"You're Mutô Yugi, right?" The brown haired man asked with a frown, looking slightly displeased for some reason. He was measuring Yugi with his eyes like buyer measured something he was planning to buy and the look terrified Yugi to his very core.

"I-I… Y-yes?" Yugi answered, and eyed the door to which's frame Kaiba was leaning onto. Quickly measuring the distance between himself and the door, Yugi came into the inclusion that the man could easily block his escape with single step. No way to escape, apparently.

"You play well," the man said, still looking displeased with Yugi.

"N-no, I d-don't," Yugi shook his head frantically. It was one of his acquired drives; need to belittle himself and his own skills. He knew it well enough; it had been part of him ever since he had been little, after all. If he was better than anyone else in anything, it caused him to be bullied three times harder. That's why his marks were low even though he knew all the answers, that's why he never stood out even though he would've had the skills it took. He didn't want to get hurt.

"Yes you do. Play something else," the man narrowed his eyes at him, and Yugi made eep-kind of sound with fear. 'No' clearly wasn't an answer. Shaking in his sneakers, Yugi looked at the cello in the floor and carefully picked it up, his right hand still holding onto the bow. Under the glare of the famous producer, Yugi sat back down to the piano stool and settled the cello between his knees. His palms sweating, he quickly though through all the songs his memory contained, picking one of them.

Kaiba stood silently, watched and recorded while Yugi started to play one of his own compositions. It started slow, hesitatingly and carefully. Then, as the music started to breathe the familiar security and peace into Yugi's mind and soul, it gained some strength and turned thicker, stronger, faster. With his eyes closed the high school student didn't see the utter shock spread into the face of the producer, nor the hungry gleam that lit into the man's hard eyes.

Yugi played through the song rather quickly and lowered the bow after ending the music into relaxing notes. Then he looked up to see Kaiba standing not that far from him. The man ignored his fearful yelp.

"You'll come with me, Mutô Yugi," the man said again with voice that would suffer no negative answers. "And I'll make you a star."

Yugi bowed his head and closed his eyes, shaking. "I-I like my l-life as it is."

"No, you don't." And that was that.

-

Yugi frowned slightly at the violin in his hands. Everything had happened so fast after Kaiba Seto had entered in his life. In the frame of two days he had gone from empty, dusty classroom into recording studio, from high school student into soon-to-be-musical-star - according to Seto.

The young boy sighed while staring at the violin - instrument that was neither from his grandfather's shop nor from the empty music room. This violin was his own, bought to him by Seto, one of many instruments the famed producer had bought him. Yugi was still a bit confused about that. He had never owned his own instrument before.

"Yugi just… play something," Mokuba's voice came via the headset Yugi had on. "Doesn't really matter as long as it's yours and you play your soul out, okay?" the young vice-president of the Kaiba Records company was staring at him through the window behind which all the machines and tables with dozens of switches and buttons were, ready to record whatever Yugi would play.

Bringing the violin up to his shoulder Yugi shrugged his shoulders and craned his neck to get his body to fit against the instrument in best way possible. Knowing that playing something he had played before wouldn't work with the mind frame he was in, he let just go and like he mostly did just expressed his emotions in the best way he knew how.

Unlike usually when he played, the music that came out from the brand new violin wasn't haunting or calm but twisted, troubled, strange. Closing his eyes Yugi couldn't see the shocked look on the young vice-president's face as he played his anxious thoughts into strange, somehow lurking melody.

After their initial conversation, Seto had dragged Yugi away from the high school, passing through the principal's office to tell the shocked headmaster that Yugi was unfortunately being scouted and most likely would not return to school. After leaving the poor man sputtering at the thought of _Yugi_ being scouted by the famous producer, the young man had proceeded to drag Yugi through the school and to a small limousine which had then taken them to his Grandfather's music shop.

Mutô Sugoroku had been suspicious at first. He knew that Yugi could play and that when he played could be rather good, but he also knew that Yugi was about as shy as they came and that the music business could be ruthless as rocks. Seto and Sugoroku had talked back and forth for three whole hours, Yugi not understanding much of it, until Sugoroku had asked him that question. "What do you think?"

And what did he think? He had no idea. Fame, money and all the things that came with what Seto was offering were all things he had never considered - something he had never thought he of all people could have. So, they didn't hold much weight in his mind, but one thing did. Famous or not, star or not, Seto was offering him a way out of school where he was bullied. The producer was offering him a life where he could just and only play.

"I-I… I d-don't want to go back to the s-school," Yugi had stuttered under the gaze of his grandfather and soon to be producer and that was that. Sugoroku had asked Seto to sign some deals - most of the apparently about the likely scenario of the time when Yugi would leave the music business, just something to insure that Yugi would have enough to go by and so forth. Sugoroku also wanted to be the one who would manage Yugi's money as the boy himself was still underage and that Yugi would continue to live in the upper floor of the shop. Seto apparently had no arguments to that.

After that it had been long introductions in the record company - meetings with handful of famous of people, few of them managers and produces, most of them artists. Mokuba had become his personal manager after little conversation - Mokuba had been the one who had initially scouted him so according to Seto it was his right. And apparently Seto wouldn't allow any of the "lower beings", as he called his workers, to get their hands on Yugi.

For some reason Seto thought Yugi was genius.

The troubled music Yugi was playing ended with disbelieving ending notes and sighing he lowered the violin before turning to look towards his manager through his golden bangs. Mokuba was doing something with the computer-table thingies, switching switches and so forth. "Is that old or new piece?" the manager who was younger than Yugi himself asked without looking up.

"I-I just made it up," Yugi said shyly. "I-if I try to play s-something older when I'm t-troubled it doesn't come out right s-so I just thought I'd make something w-with right emotion."

The boy on the other side of the window snapped his eyes up. "Are you saying me that you just made that up, on the spot?" he asked with disbelief and folded his hands when Yugi nodded, looking shocked. "Yugi, people don't just _make up_ music like that on the spot!" he sighed as Yugi flinched. "Ookay, I need to get adjusted to that with you I guess. I'm not scolding you or anything, what I mean to say that this is why my brother thinks you're genius. Before you neither of us has even _heard_ of someone with abilities like yours." He shook his head in awe and looked down to the table. "Good thing that I got that recorded on the first shot. It would be pity if that piece would be lost."

"I-I could play it again if you want me to…" Yugi said carefully.

"You mean to say that you can remember it? Even though you just made it up?" Mokuba blinked.

"I-I always remember music I've heard. I-I played it myself, so I will p-probably never forget it," Yugi shrugged helplessly. "I-it's always like that, I guess tha-that's why can play this well without e-ever learning to read notes."

Mokuba nodded. The fact that Yugi couldn't make heads or tails of any kind of written music had caused a bit trouble him and Seto, but apparently hearing that he could remember music lightened up his mood. "And you wonder why we scouted you," he shook his head in grim amusement. "Hopefully one day you'll realise what a treasure you really are." Yugi didn't really have anything to say to that. "We'll then; do you think you could play something else?"

"I could make up something with the s-same emotion, but nothing I've previously played, no. Not with this mindset," Yugi shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

"W-what I'm feeling affects the music I play. It just d-doesn't come out right if the music and my emotions aren't the same," the young artists shrugged again helplessly.

"Hmm… so, basically, unless you're on right frame of mind you can never properly play the things you're played before?" Mokuba frowned slightly. "Do you think there is anything you can do to make you be in the right emotion?"

Looking around in the studio with slight hesitation, Yugi shrugged again. "When I get adjusted to this place I think I can p-play properly again. N-now I'm just too freaked out."

"Hmm… well, we'll try to get you calmed down later. How about you play another freaked-out piece for me and we'll call it quits for today?" Mokuba asked. "We still have appointment with a stylist today."

Yugi frowned slightly and took the violin up to his shoulder again. that was another thing he was dreading - the stylist. According to Seto and Mokuba, school uniform and bandana just didn't cut it for someone like him, so they thought they would have his style fixed. Yugi wasn't sure if he could go through it normally because to him his bandana was about as precious as his lungs - he just couldn't go without it. Because of his thoughts, freaked out and frightened were about the right words to describe the piece that Yugi played.

-

"C-couldn't I keep it?" Yugi stuttered in fear some time later when he and Mokuba were at the stylist's room. The woman was trying to make him undress his bandana and the very idea made him horrified.

"But Yugi, hon," the woman said with a slight frown. "No one can see your face when you have that thing on. Your hair is all… ugh… too, covering your eyes like that. I'm sure you have nice face and probably a beautiful pair of eyes too, but I can't see _either_ with that thing and your hair in the way."

"P-please," Yugi shrunk in his chair, holding onto the bandana she was trying to take. "I haven't been w-without it in y-years, I don't thing I could… it would just…"

Mokuba sighed from the chair where he had been reading some magazine. "Is it the bandana specifically that you want to keep or do you just want to hide your hair and face?" he asked in calming voice. "Because if it's the bandana then you can keep it just around your neck or something, but if you just want to hide your face then we can probably find a better looking way to do it."

Yugi hesitated. "I-it's my eyes," he then said, slowly letting go of the bandana. "I don't like people seeing my eyes. Or my hair."

"Now what could thee be wrong with your eyes, or hair --" the stylist stopped speaking after she had removed the bandana, stopping to stare at Yugi's hair. The boy blushed and bowed his head so that his face couldn't be seen. Yeah, that was the reaction to his hair usually. After all, very few had hair like his.

"You a Yami fan then? Or perhaps Atemu…" The stylist asked slowly.

"What?" Yugi blinked with confusion. "W-who?"

"Yami and Atemu…. You don't know them? You have never heard of Namonaki Yami or Pharaoh Atemu? Yet you have their hairstyle?" The woman asked with confusion.

"Wh-what are you talking about? My hair has always been this way."

"Are you telling me this is _natural_?!"

"Mai, calm down," Mokuba sighed from the back, though he too sounded a bit confused. "You've really had that kind of hair always, you were born with hair that was purple from back and gold from front?" Yugi nodded timidly. "Well… why would you want to hide your hair when it's cool like that?"

"B-because I used to get b-beaten often because of it," Yugi mumbled quietly but the manager and the stylist heard him. There was a short silence as Yugi twisted his hands in is lap, before Mai patted him to his shoulder.

"Well then, how about we see what we can do to you. I think a hat of some sort would be good for you - mau cap maybe…" and then she started to work, first brushing Yugi's hair before starting to cut it into more suitable fashion while the boy himself pressed his eyes tightly shut. After cutting the hair she styled it into certain fashion before dragging Yugi into another room to try the clothing.

"Now, you're quite short…" the blonde woman mumbled while going through the large wardrobe. "Do we want to make you appear taller of keep you the way you are…? And what kind of colours would fit you, with that pale complexion dark colours are out, they would contrast too much… something to go with the hair maybe…?" she mumbled to herself while Yugi stood near by, feeling kind of nervous. He had never worn stylish clothing, it would probably feel weird. "Hmm… something a bit more casual maybe," the stylish eyed anxious Yugi amusedly.

After hour or so trying different outfits, Mai settled for outlook of light denim pants, black sneakers, white wife-beater with light blue button up shirt on top of it, and dark blue mau cap. Yugi tied the black bandana he had worn on his head around his neck just so that if he would loose the cap he could tie the bandana.

"Well… he doesn't look like world famous star, but it looks better," Mokuba nodded with satisfied smile.

---

Again, my apologies for the grammrr and reviews are appreciated :)


	4. III Chapter

**III chapter**

"Now, since you've never been in concert in your life and apparently know nothing about the way of life you're going to be living," Mokuba said in day after they had visited the stylish, holding a music magazine of sorts, "we'll be going to see the DMF - Domino Music Festival."

The black haired manager showed Yugi what he was looking in the magazine - a large picture of stadium clad in some kind of mist or smoke and lighted by colourful lights. There was man standing on the stage before what looked like hundreds if not thousands of people. He looked strangely familiar to Yugi so he stepped closer to look at the picture.

"Domino has for at least seven years been the host of annual Music Festival. There will be handful of artists performing, few of them from Kaiba Records, some from Millennium Item, and so forth," the fourteen year old produces explained. "The festival is rather small, nothing like Musicians Kingdom that is held once in three years by Industrial Illusions, or Melody Metropolis that is held by yours truly and of course it has nothing on the Song Keep that is held annually in the Tomb."

"T-Tomb?" Yugi looked up with confusion.

"It's _the_ largest concert hall in the world - concert _stadium_ actually. It's owned by the Ishtal family. It's also the only concert hall in the world that is build completely _under ground_," Mokuba shrugged. "It had originally a different name, but it has been called Tomb for so long that I don't remember what it was. Every time the Ishtals decide to throw a party here, the whole world is invited, all possible media, the world's top artist varying from rock stars to opera singers… of course, the Tomb can easily fit half million people, so there will be lot of crowd. That's why it's called concert stadium instead of concert hall."

"Domino Music Festival compared to that is small, of course, but it's still rather big event," Mokuba said. "Today more than ever thanks to the fact that we have Mr Namonaki performing again," he motioned at the picture before handing the magazine to Yugi.

The soon-to-be-artist stared at the picture in awe and confusion. No wonder he had through that the man looked familiar. He had a hairstyle similar to his - bit longer and whole lot wilder than his but similar none the less. He was dressed into black leather from top to toe and there was a thick leather collar around his neck. He was holding up a microphone, and apparently screaming his heart out at the crowd.

Yugi frowned. Could it be… no, it couldn't, they all had been killed in the fire fourteen years ago, right? But the man still looked just like a GPzero would…

"That man there, Namonaki Yami, as the moment the worlds topmost singer," Mokuba said, tapping the magazine with a finger and startling Yugi out of his thoughts. "He's a musical genius much like you but different talent, I suppose. They say that he can sing _anything _and_ everything_. He mostly sings some form of metal, but I think he could be anything from popstar to opera singer or even yodel and he still would be the most popular voice in the world. And if that wasn't enough, he can also sing in at least ten different languages."

"He has been in the DMF only once before two years ago, but he will be there again this time - which means that the festival was sold out probably in the very day they started selling tickets," the producer chuckled. "We however will be watching the festival from Kaiba Records' box, so we didn't even need to go through the bother of getting tickets. At the festival you'll get a glimpse of what your life will be if the audience will like your music as much as I do."

"O-okay," Yugi mumbled, still eying the man in the picture warily. "W-When is it? T-the festival I mean."

"Tomorrow," Mokuba said and smiled. "It's nothing to be worried about, were just going to listen the performers and that's it. Seto might come along, but I'm not entirely sure, he has a pretty tight schedule most of the time."

Yugi nodded, before looking up from the picture. "M-Mai mentioned someone else, w-who…" he frowned slightly. "W-when she thought I was Yami's fan…"

"Ah, Atemu you mean?" Mokuba smiled before turning around to go through the stack of magazines in the table. "Pharaoh Atemu is just as famous as Namonaki Yami, just in different circles. He's a model - well, a super model actually. I know the term is usually used about the scantily clothed women in the cover of Sports Illustrated, but it's the closest term to describe him before term hyper model stops sounding silly."

The black haired producer pulled out some kind of fashion magazine, and showed the cover. Yugi gasped out loud at the sight of the man in the front, unable to find any words to describe the man he saw. "Yeah, I know," Mokuba agreed with his shock. "Atemu is probably the most beautiful man on earth. His fame however doesn't come just because of his face, but because he in his own way is a genius as well. I've only seen him in videos, but Seto has met him in person - and seen him perform live. Big brother said that he had never known human body could move so beautifully, and coming from him that's praise like no other."

Yugi blinked with confusion, making Mokuba laugh. "Atemu is a _dancer_. Probably best of the world - he could be dancing everything from tango to belly dance and to break-dance and you wouldn't be able to take your eyes of him. He has mastered probably every dance ever created - on top of that he has the agility and limberness of a circus freak," the produced chuckled while leafing through the magazine. "He's also a writer and incredibly intelligent man - and one of the riches men of the world. He has done great deal of good by donating great sums of money to various organisations."

"One can miss the similarity of the hairstyles, though," Mokuba muttered, eying the picture of Atemu in one of the pages. "Yours, his and Yami's… Maybe it a sign of success, maybe one day you will be as famous as they are. Heh."

"H-how old are they?" Yugi asked, thinking about something else than his possible fame.

"Yami and Atemu? Atemu is twenty-two and Yami nineteen if I remember correctly."

Yugi frowned, unseen to Mokuba thanks to Yugi's bangs covering most of his face. Twenty two and nineteen that would mean Atemu was eight and Yami five around the fire… He shook his head quickly. He was reading too much into their hairstyles, way too much. It wasn't possible and that's that. None of them had survived. And he needed a distraction before his imagination would run off. "W-what are we doing today?"

"Well, I was hoping that if you would be in the right frame of mind we could record more of your pieces," the producer smiled. "I know you can remember them all, but I would feel better if we would have at least some of them in recorded form, seeing that you can't write them down."

"I-I don't think I can play normally… b-but I think I have some older pieces of th-this emotion…"

"Well then, how about we head towards the recording studio?"

-

Yugi had never seen so many people in one place. They were everywhere - lining at the entrance of the Domino Sport Stadium where the DMF was held, around the parking lot, coming down the street, all heading towards the stadium. As he was guided by Mokuba's hand and two body guards through the crowd, he felt awed by that he saw. So many people, all gathered in one place to listen to _music_.

Was it always like this, was it like this everywhere? Not only were these whole lot of people there, but they were so varying. Everything from twelve-year-old girls into forty-year-old guys in leather, crowds of people in different school uniforms, he even saw few suits… And the noise, he had never heard so much _talking_. In his school he had of course heard what kind of chatter decent crowd could make but nothing like this. The air was _buzzing_ with excited speaking. It was really awe-inspiring, the fact that music could have that kind of effect.

Mokuba didn't seem too surprised through. He was just making his way through the crowd calmly, dragging Yugi along with the body guards always remaining near by. Before Yugi knew, Mokuba was speaking something to the guards at the entrance, who then let them in without a question. Inside there was even _more_ people than there had been outside. As they walked down corridors and up stairs, they must've countered at least hundred or so people, and there seemed to be no end to them.

Then, after whole lot of walking later, they came into private box of sorts. There were chairs and tables there waiting for them, and through the plastic window they had a perfect view down to the stage itself. While Mokuba sunk into one of the chairs with relieved sigh, Yugi looked down to the stadium in curiosity. The amount of people down there made the crowd outside seem _little_.

"Never seen so many people, huh?" Mokuba asked, watching Yugi's amazement with amused smile. Yugi just shook his head. "Yeah, well it's not always this full. It's Namonaki's doing, really. These people are here mostly to see him - even though he only sings two songs."

Yugi frowned a little and looked down again. One man had that kind of popularity? "H-how can we hear t-through this?" Yugi tapped the plastic window.

"Speakers," Mokuba motioned to the corners of the room where stood large loudspeakers. "We'll probably hear the music better than the people down there will. So nothing to worry about."

Yugi nodded and after looking down final time took seat beside Mokuba. "H-how long will the festival last?"

"Three hours. Namonaki will be the last performer - they save the best ones last, I suppose. Before him we'll head handful of bands and maybe few solo singers, I'm not entirely sure who though. I try not to look through the schedules before hand, makes the event more interesting," Mokuba was interrupted by his phone which started to ring a strange tune. Yugi tuned him out as he answered the phone - Mokuba was called twice or trice per hour, so he had quickly learned to ignore it.

"Seto will be here in few moments," Mokuba said after putting the phone away. Yugi just nodded, not knowing what to say. He didn't know the elder Kaiba that well, as he usually spend time with Mokuba. Sinking to his seat, the soon-to-be-artist sighed to himself. It was kind of cool that there was so many people here and that they would listen to some world famous singers, but… Yugi didn't really like _listening_ to music. Playing yes, listening no.

After five or so minutes of waiting, the body guards opened the door to let the president of Kaiba Records in - but he wasn't alone. Mokuba made a chocking sound and Yugi's eyes widened as they saw the man tailing behind their boss.

"…but I'm bored and pissing you off never gets old, Kaiba. Besides my turn won't even be until after everyone else have performed. And that's like, what, three hours away? What am I supposed to do in three hours?" Namonaki Yami spoke, sneering at the elder of the Kaiba brothers.

"I don't know, bother Bakura and Ryô maybe?" Seto asked with annoyed voice before noticing Mokuba and Yugi. "Mokuba, Mutô," he nodded at them, receiving nods as answer.

"Mutô?" Namonaki sounded curious, peering towards Yugi who quickly shrink in his seat, trying to look as small as possible. "I didn't know you did boy bands, Kaiba, I thought your label was specialised with female pop idols and such. Or is this one Mokuba's friends or something?"

"No, he's one of ours and he's neither singer nor an idol," Kaiba said and took seat beside Mokuba. "Not that it's any of your business though."

"What a spoilsport," Namonaki muttered and took a seat - right beside Yugi who was desperately truing _not_ to stare at the man.

Namonaki was shorter than Yugi had thought, but otherwise the pictures didn't do the man justice, not even nearly. He was very handsome young man in exotic way - the two-colour hair and the leather attire fit him perfectly and the crimson shaded eyes finalized the outlook. But what made Yugi quiver slightly was his voice - gods, the man wasn't even signing and he couldn't hell but feel drawn to the smooth dark words he spoke.

It didn't mean anything, his mind was telling him, Namonaki was just a good singer, that's all. But part of him felt slightly afraid because of the leather collar in the man's neck. That collar hid the exact same spot where GPzero would have their mark, so he couldn't tell. The hair and the eyes fit, but without seeing the man's neck he couldn't be sure, and it frightened him, being uncertain of something that should be impossible in the first place.

All GPzeros should be dead, yet this man looked exactly like they had…

"So, what's your full name?" Namonaki spoke, making Yugi jump a bit.

"M-Mutô Y-Yugi," the boy stuttered, trying to shrink away from the man.

"I don't think I've ever heard of you…"

"You should've, we only found him some days ago from Domino High School," Kaiba made a dismissing motion with his hand.

"I see. He's a _new_ guy then," Namonaki smirked down at Yugi, who shrunk even further. "He's kind of small isn't he?"

"You're the one to talk, shorty."

"Well, at least I'm not as short as this one is. What can he do anyway if he can't sing and isn't in a band?"

Mokuba warped his hand around Yugi's shoulder, trying to calm the nervous youth down. "None of your damn business," the younger Kaiba said angrily. "And stop bothering Yugi or get out. He's nervous enough already as it is." "Well that isn't my fault is it?" the singer sneered.

Seto glared at the man. "Mokuba's right. Shut the hell up, Namonaki, or get out."

"Fine, fine, I'll be quiet," Namonaki rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, looking annoyed.

Thankfully they were saved from awkward silence by announcer walking to the stage. His voice echoed in the private box as he announced the festival before introducing the first group of singers. As Dramatic lights flashed and stage was surrounded by fog, Yugi leaned back in his seat, feeling a bit anxious. When the first notes were played by guitar, he cringed visibly. After few moments the band started to really play before the signing begun, and Yugi wanted to desperately cover his ears.

There was a reason why he didn't like listening to music, reason why listening to music sometimes even managed to make him sick. He couldn't hear the music in the same way other people did - the drums and the bass and the guitar and the singing _didn't_ mingle to work in harmony in his ears, they never had. Instead he heard just drums and bass and guitar and singing, all in the same time and they didn't fit with each other. It was like they were trying to out do each other, actually, like they were competing which eat over, going over each other until it was just a mess. On top of that he head each and every fault - how the guitar played one note too slowly and other too quickly, how the drums almost missed a beat, how the singer's voice hitched here and there… That was one of the reasons why he could never listen to any orchestra. While bad of a four made his head hurt and ears ring, orchestra of dozens of players made him pass out right after few notes.

Thankfully no one seemed to notice, they just watched the stage and listened. Yugi forced himself to relax and not to press his palms over his ears, forced himself to trey and ignore the mess that was supposed to be music he heard. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and tried to stop the cold and hot waves running through him before they would make him break out into cold sweat.

After what seemed like hours but was only three or four minutes, the song ended with booming applaud. Trying to relax, and get himself mentally ready for the next song, Yugi wondered if he could go through the night without getting sick. For a moment he also pondered if he should say something - that if he did, maybe Mokuba and Seto wouldn't force him to listen - but didn't. Asking for help wasn't something he did, so he just suffered quietly as another song begun.

His resolution didn't last for long. Few songs from three different bands, he turned to Mokuba and meekly asked if there was a restroom somewhere near by. His manager looked at him worryingly. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yeah, I just need to visit the b-bathroom," Yugi mumbled, swallowing down the vomit that was trying to creep up his throat. After Mokuba told that there was a bathroom down the hall, Yugi practically fled the box, soon to empty his stomach into the porcelain bowl. He washed his mouth and face, carefully trying to look like nothing was wrong when he returned to the box, but after handful of songs and two more visits to the bathroom, Mokuba and Seto were both giving him worried looks.

"You're not alright," Mokuba said sternly, laying his hand on Yugi's forehead to try if he had a fever. "You don't feel sick, though. Is it the height that's bothering you?" Yugi just shook his head, trying to tell him not to worry, but it was obvious for anyone that he was really feeling sick.

"It's the music isn't it?" Namonaki suddenly asked. "The music's making you sick."

"What?" Seto blinked and turned to Yugi. "You can play every single instrument man kind has developed and the music makes you sick?" the words gained an incredulous look from Namonaki.

"I-it's b-because t-t-there is m-more t-than one i-instrument," Yugi stuttered, embarrassed and still ill. "I-I h-hear them s-se-separately…"

"You mean you can pick each instrument separately from the song?" Mokuba asked. "I knew you had a good hearing, but damn… I've never heard about something like that."

"Another thing that makes him special," Seto said and pulled out his phone. "I'll call the driver; you take him out of here, Mokuba. No use torturing him further."

"Or course," Mokuba nodded and quickly led pale Yugi out of the box.

"What did you mean, he can play every instrument?" Yami asked from Seto after they had left.

"Exactly what I said," the president of the Kaiba Records shrugged while dialling the phone. "I'm still in processor of finding more instruments to him, but so far we haven't countered anything that he can't play. Sadly there seems to be side effects with his abilities - on top of the fact that he can't understand notes."

Yami blinked slowly and turned to look at the door through which Mokuba had led the boy away. "Interesting…"

---

It's really intresting how late at night when you are trying to sleep you're bitten by inspiration-bug and forced to get up and write it all down. This story was supposed to be just about music and romance and stuff, but now it has actual _plot _thanks to my insomnia! xD  
Apologies for grammar errors and reviews are highly appreciated.


	5. IV Chapter

**IV Chapter**

The singer eyed the building before him - building branded with large letters KR on each side. Kaiba Records main office. Looking at the proud twenty-story-building it was really strange to think that the world famous record label hadn't even existed good six years ago. Just like four years ago Millennium Item hadn't been anything but a sticker in bottom of a CD in sale. Yami had made Millennium Item world famous with his voice, Kaiba had worked his company into business-stardom by his idols… and now they were rivals like no other.

The singer smiled, fingering the visor of the cap hiding his hair, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Then he tugged self consciously on the collar of his jacket that hid his trademark-leather-choker. He could never really go out without hiding his appearance like this. Curse of most famous people was pure hell to him as he had so many distinguishing features. Even after three straight years of stardom he hadn't gotten used to hiding himself like this. And he certainly didn't like it.

Shaking his head, Namonaki Yami headed towards the entrance of the building, wondering about rivalries. Rivalry between Millennium Item and Kaiba Records was mostly rivalry between Yami and Seto Kaiba. Bakura, the president of Millennium Item, really couldn't care less as long as Yami continued to bring in the money and Ryô was entirely too soft for such things - great manager, Yami never denied that but still soft. So the rivalry was Yami's game - game popularity. Which made more sells, Yami or Kaiba's idols?

But now Kaiba had swayed from the usual pattern, he wasn't throwing idols at Yami anymore. It had already been year since the last group had been created, yet Kaiba hadn't formed another one. Instead there was a single feeble boy who got sick by just listening to music. No matter how Yami's pride wanted to laugh at very notion of such creature threatening him, he knew Kaiba better than that. Seto Kaiba did not bother with feeble boys that got sick easily unless there was something incredibly special in them. And Seto Kaiba worried about no one but Mokuba, yet he had been quick to get this Mutô away from the source of his sickness that night in DMF. Mutô really had to be something else.

Walking across the hall of the company, Yami chuckled to himself. One thing that seemed to be the same with almost every record company he visited was the fact that they were incredibly easy to sneak into. Too adjusted to artist hiding themselves behind sunglasses and hats, the people down the hall hardly paid any attention to him as he waited for an elevator. Kaiba Records was slightly different from Golden Pyramid for example, because Seto Kaiba could be damn paranoid person. The elevators worked only if you could present them key card and password and there was no stairs the first floor.

But even that hadn't caused Yami much trouble. It was really amazing what kind of doors fame and money could open to you. Whistling he pulled the key card from his pocket as the elevator informed him that he needed to insert the key and the password. Yami inserted the card, wrote the password onto the computer and was granted access to the elevator. Snatching the key card out of the machine, he entered the elevator and hit the level number fourteen - level in which was the personal recording studio of Mokuba Kaiba according to his informant.

Mokuba Kaiba, Yami mused to himself while waiting in the elevator. Seto's younger brother and by no means lesser producer - in some cases he was even better and as the brat was still fourteen that was saying something. It was mostly Mokuba who attended the press conferences and such because he was more of a people person than his big brother was. And with the kid looking like he did, he had quite the fanbase of his own so he was almost like one of Seto's idols.

And now he was solely concentrated onto this Mutô. That if nothing else made Yami curious. Could the boy really play all instruments in the world? Yami had seen some wild stuff, but that was something he couldn't believe. If a person could play four instruments well then that was a miracle, but all of them? How many instruments had human kind developed, dozens, hundreds? No way could someone play them all.

The elevator made a ringing sound to let him know that he was in the floor he had requested already before opening the doors. Casually Yami walked out of the elevator and wondered at which direction was Mokuba's studio. After moment of wondering, he just asked near by worker who pointed him towards the studio easily, not suspicious in the leas - but then again, why would he with security like the one they had in the building?

Yami thanked and headed towards the studio. He was a bit surprised to found the studio door slightly ajar, but shrugged it off. Even best of them made slips, he supposed and leaned closer to listen in. He could hear speaking.

"Yugi - Yugi, calm down, its okay. It's your cello anyway, why should you feel guilty for breaking a string? Calm _down_ would you, it's just one string," Mokuba's voice sounded amused. "Two strings? Well, it still doesn't matter. I can get replacements with snap of my fingers - and if you really feel that bad about it, you can buy new ones from your grandpa's store and fine tune the thing yourself."

There was a short pause, before Mokuba chuckled. "Damn… it's a real pity the strings broke, that was really something. Well, at least I got part of it," he seemed to mutter more to himself than to artist in the Isolation Booth. "Okay, for now we'll just continue with another instrument," he said a bit clearer voice. "You pick the instrument yourself, something you _want_ to play, hm? Oh, we'll go with that then? Okay, give me a minute and you can go."

Cello, huh? Very un-Kaiba-like instrument. Curious, Yami opened the door just slightly to peak in. He saw Mokuba sitting at the recording tables, fine tuning the thing with skill only born from exercise. Through the soundproof glass, Yami could see the Mutô-boy himself. The kid was shrugging his shoulders as if to get the strap running over his shoulder while fingering the strings of the electric guitar. The guitar looked strange on him - blood red and shiny in its newness, the guitar didn't really fit with the boy's short frame or the lightly coloured clothing.

"Okay, Yugi, I'm all set," Mokuba spoke to the microphone on his headset. "You know the drill. Mark, six seconds, and you can begin." The boy whose face was hidden behind golden bangs and whose hair was hidden in dark blue mau-cap nodded. Mokuba nodded too. "Okay, mark."

Mutô waited for exactly six seconds before even moving. Yami watched in curiosity how the boy's hands moved almost lazily over the strings, wondering what so special was there about this boy. Certainly he could play guitar by the looks of it but without hearing Yami couldn't tell what so special was there about it. The thought was cut short when Muto started to really move his hands in upturning pace, slowly and steadily heating up until _both_ of his hands were blurry, fingers dancing over the strings with deadly preciseness.

Suddenly Yami wanted to really hear what the boy was playing. He leaned forward hoping for a slightest sound, but could hear nothing. It's strange when you listen to the silence that intently, because you stop hearing. Yami was reminded of this as he could feel something cold in the base of his neck.

"Why hello, Namonaki, fancy seeing you here," Seto Kaiba's voice spoke coldly, softly. Yami glanced over his shoulder with surprise and force. The cold feeling in his neck was a freaking _gun barrel_! Seto smiled coldly at him. "I am slightly curious how you got Mr Dreyman's ID and password but I think I can guess. And I guess he failed to mention that there are cameras in each of the elevators, hm?"

"Yeah, he didn't tell me that," Yami frowned, feeling the slightest tingle of worry. Would Kaiba really shoot him?

"If you would be any other person, your brains would be splattered over that door," the producer snorted while pulling the gun away. "And if you were _that_ curious about Mutô, then you could've just asked. Idiot."

"And you would've told me? Or let me listen?" Yami asked suspiciously.

"You are really over confident if you think that your meagre talents could duplicate his genius," Seto snorted in a way only man as powerful as he could. He tugged the gun casually into the holster underneath his arm - making Yami realise that the man carried the weapon always with him - before stepping pass the artist into the studio.

"Oh, Seto!" Mokuba sounded delighted as he looked up from the recording table. "Just in time. You gotta hear this," then he quickly turned the speakers in the room on.

Yami's eyes widened. No way… he turned to look through the soundproof window, and could easily see that the music heard _was_ being played by the kid in the isolation booth. The music... it was incredible. Seeing the fast paced tune being played was nothing like hearing the music the boy was creating. It was like something classical colliding with rock music and metal, perfect symphony of beautiful and rough, old and new and yet Yami was absolutely sure he had never heard the haunting melody being played. So fast and so slow in the same time. How could _anyone_ play like that?

Kaiba's smirk was utterly victorious as he looked _down_ upon Yami like he had never before. Yami swallowed, still staring at the boy who hadn't even noticed them. The music was incredible as it was, but just beginning. Suddenly it split, and even Mokuba and Seto looked shocked as the boy started to play _duet_ with a _single guitar_. Yami knew his mouth was hanging open as he watched the boy's hands fly over the strings, up and down so fast pace that he could hardly see. He had seen some incredible artists, but _nothing_ like this. He had never even heard of something like this.

The boy in the isolation booth turned his head a little and Yami could see the little smile playing on his lips. Just before he ended the music in a strange wailing note that would replay in Yami's ears for days to come. "H-how was that?" the boy asked shyly through the speakers, before freezing at the sight of Seto and Yami.

"How did you _do_ that?" Seto asked in amazement.

"Ah… I u-used to pr-practice my s-speed with that…" the boy looked almost frightful.

"That was _practice_?!" Yami asked incredulously.

"For what exactly did you practice, Yugi?" Mokuba asked carefully while quickly adjusting the table before him, turning and twisting the knops here and there. "Can you play it to us?"

"Ah… I g-guess the emotion is about r-right..." the boy murmured. He looked at the guitar for a moment before starting up a melody. While Yami wondered what he meant about emotion, the boy started to play, and what he did with his hands really made the former miracle look like practice.

It sounded like four or five different guitarist would be playing in the same time. Each of the boy's short but nimble fingers played separately yet in perfect harmony and single guitar created something even a group of most trained guitarist would have trouble of duplicating. Not only as the boy playing like croup of people all by himself, but he played like group of geniuses and the music was masterpiece in the level of Beethoven and Vivaldi. It was the kind of music that made your heart and soul bleed while your mind wondered - and for some reason, it made Yami think of questions and games of all things. How the each string of melody played around each other created imagine of puzzle in his mind - each string of melody was a piece of the puzzle, fitting against each other perfectly

How he did it Yami had no idea, but it blew his mind away like nothing ever had before. Who, no, _what_ was this boy? How could he _do_ that?!

Yami wasn't the only one shocked. Kaiba was opening and closing his mouth in shock while Mokuba's hands were shaking as he just slightly adjusted some knob in the table. "Holy hell," Seto murmured finally, sinking to sit beside Mokuba. "We need to fix his hearing, we need to get him into a stage and damn we need to do it soon," the producer seemed to have forgotten Yami's presence entirely.

The boy ended the masterpiece into climbing notes that seemed to reach the heavens before ending in slight echo. He was now slightly out of breath, and one could see a bead of sweat running down his chin. "H-how many of pieces like this you have, Yugi?" Mokuba asked carefully.

"S-seven," the boy said with a slightest blush visible from underneath his hair. "I-I call this one the _Puzzle_."

"Seven… my god, and they're all for guitar?"

"N-no… _R-Ring_ is for violin, _Rod_ is for flu-flute, _Scales_ and _T-Tauk_ are for cello and the _Eye_ and the _K_-_Key_ is for p-piano," the boy answered with slight shake of head.

"Where did you get the names from?" Seto asked, leaning in to speak through Mokuba's headsets microphone.

"F-from one E-Egyptian m-myth I r-read when I was l-little," the meek artist answered.

"We need to record those and soon," Seto muttered to Mokuba. "See that it's done and sent the tapes as soon as you can to me. Those seven pieces will make Yugi's first album."

Yami swallowed, looking at the innocent boy on the other side of the glass. He knew he had lost. Yugi's first record's sells would break all records, he was certain of it. After glancing around quickly, Yami made his way out of the studio and headed towards the elevator, never having felt so beaten in his life.

---

A bit short chapter, but who cares.

**Serzie** Yugi was actually _two_ around the time (he's sixteen now). It will be all explained in some later chapter but for now I shall withhold the information for the sake of the so called "plot".

I apologise for grammar and thank you all for your reviews. : )


	6. V Chapter

**V chapter**

Mahado fingered at the small mp3 player in his hands while looking at his most praised model with worried look on his tanned face. Atemu was depressed again - not that Atemu being depressed was anything new, but he was more depressed than he usually was. Not in the fake-smile-kind of depressed, but in the manner where the man would just sit still for hours and stare at nothing with almost empty crimson eyes.

Mildly the manager wondered what had brought on this bout of depression. Perhaps the fiasco of a date last week. Another one of Atemu's poor attempts of relationship had came down when the model had realised that once more his date couldn't see anything but the three big Fs - face, fame and fortune. It happened way too often, and Mahado could tell that Atemu was getting tired with it, more and more distrustful and wary with each fiasco. And it was almost painful to look at because the model wanted affection of a lover desperately.

The manager sighed. Usually when Atemu was in this mood, it was Seth who brought that fake smile back to his face. Seth wasn't there, though, he was out of country with Mana, leaving Mahado handle his depressed model. Looking down to the music player, Mahado raised his chin before walking words the room's music system. Atemu didn't even look up as he hooked the mp3 player into the stereos, downloaded song into the hard rive, before hitting the play-button.

The music started to play, the expensive stereo system playing every single melodramatic note clearly and loudly. Atemu turned to look at him, now frowning a bit as the slow dramatic melody took a turn and started to pick the pace. It was played with an instrument but somehow it sounded like there had been more than that in the melody - echoes of other instruments and thoughts even though there were none.

"What is this?" Atemu asked finally.

"I don't know, actually," Mahado answered with a shrug, hiding his relief. Atemu had reacted, that was always a good sign. "It came from the radio. I think the announcer said that it's played by someone called Mutô Yugi, but I'm not sure."

"Hmm," the super model leader his head to the side and closed his eyes, just listening for a moment. Mahado glanced at the other man, and wondered how Atemu could make something as simple as _listening_ look so enthralling and beautiful. It wasn't just because of the face, the softly tanned skin, the gloriously exotic hair, not even the glowing crimson eyes, but the _mannerism_ Atemu had. He could've been the ugliest person in the world, and still make that slightest tilt of head look beautiful.

"This is beautiful," the model finally whispered with slightest hint of the fake smile that usually lingered on his lips. Mahado didn't know if he should be happy or sad about that smile. It meant that Atemu was coming out of this bout of depression yes, but gods how he hated that smile. It wasn't that it looked fake or anything, it was actually the most real-looking smile he had seen, but he knew it was fake because when Atemu _really_ smiled, the smile lit the whole room. Mahado had seen it only once in all the years of knowing Atemu, and ever since then he had hated the fake smile.

"When are Seth and Mana coming back?" Atemu asked while leaning his head against the divan.

"Next week," Mahado said and walked to take seat on the other divan that was right beside the one Atemu was sitting on. "The company that 'rented' Seth wants to replace all their older ads with him - they're even thinking about redoing their TV-ads with him."

"Hmm," Atemu just nodded and looked away, still listening to the music. While waiting for the music to end, Mahado thought about the differences between Seth and Atemu. While Seth was beautiful in his own right, he wasn't as much as Atemu was. Yet they had nearly as much jobs because some companies found it easier to work with Seth. Not that it was really such a wonder. Atemu was pretty hard to understand from time to time, sometimes it was like he spoke languages no one else could understand.

"I want more music from this artist," Atemu said when the song ended.

"I'll see what I can find," Mahado nodded. He looked at the model's face studying for a moment and then spoke again. "You have a photo shoot in hour."

"Ah," the model sighed and stood up. "I guess I'll go get ready then."

Mahado smiled slightly as he saw Atemu take the mp3 player he had brought with him as he left.

-

It took nearly a month to find more music from Mutô Yugi, but then again the piece he had recorded from the radio had been just a teaser of sorts, the album didn't come out until month after that. Thanks to having ordered the CD month before it came, Mahado had managed to get it before it sold out - and it had been sold out, within the hour after it had hit the stores in fact.

Looking at the CD cover Mahado frowned. In the cover there was a picture of boy clad in rather simple clothing and mau-cap that hid his hair and facial features. He was sitting in a corner of a room, hugging his knees with shadows of some other people cast over him. It was really strange CD cover, made him wonder if the boy was being attacked or something. And was this kid the artist or just some random model hired for the cover effect?

The names of the musical pieces got him interested too. The first one was called _Prologue to Sennen_. That was the one that had played in the radios month ago - and still did. Underneath the first one was seven others. _Puzzle, Ring, Key, Scales, Eye, Tauk _and_ Rod_. Mahado knew that the names came from some Egyptian myth. Atemu and Seth had once played out that myth in one photo shoot with fake Sennen Items.

Mahado smiled while heading towards the sitting room where his most praised model usually spend his time. Atemu, who had been raised in Egypt and liked the country's history, would probably appreciate the names. Entering to the sitting room, he found Atemu with Seth. The two of them were playing chess on the divans, neither speaking while the stereos played once more the _Prologue to Sennen_ in repeat.

"Morning Mahado," Seth greeted him with a smile. Atemu smiled his fake smile too briefly before looking back down to their game.

"Morning to you too," the manager smiled before walking to the stereos. Atemu looked up with slightest frown as he entered the CD into the stereos and made the stereos play it instead of the mp3. The model's expression changed how ever, as the _Puzzle_ started to play.

"What is this?" Atemu asked.

"Mutô Yugi's first album. It was released this morning," Mahado said. Atemu's eyes widened and he reached out his hand somewhat commandingly. Obediently the manager took the CD covers to the model. Then he and Seth watched with slight amusement and awe as Atemu examined the CD covers very carefully and gently as if they were ancient relic made of thinnest papyrus.

"He really likes this Mutô Yugi, huh?" Mahado chuckled.

"He likes music and apparently this Mutô person is at the moment best he has found," Seth shrugged and smiled a little as Atemu gently pulled the leaflet out to examine it.

"Is this Mutô Yugi?" Atemu showed the cover page.

"I don't know," Mahado shook his head. "Could be."

"Hmm…" Atemu carefully turned the page and started to read the tiny text inside. The Chess game wasn't forgotten though. While reading and listening, Atemu found time to move the chess pieces, and even though it looked like he was doing it randomly, the frown on Seth's face told otherwise.

"It is him in the cover," Atemu murmured after while, turning the booklet around to look at the cover again, his eyes flickering over the fearful form to take in everything about the artist. "He's only sixteen."

"Sixteen year-old plays that?" Seth asked in disbelief, motion towards the stereos which where now playing the most complicated violin piece Mahado had ever heard.

"Yeah… and each of these pieces is played with a single instrument," Atemu leaned back a little while continuing to read the booklet again. Then he suddenly frowned before taking the plastic covers to his hand again and flipping them over. "He's working with Kaiba Records," the model blinked as if with surprise.

"What?" Mahado was surprised, quickly taking seat beside the model to see the covers himself. He hadn't noticed the Kaiba Records logo at all, which was surprising because usually the logo was pretty big. When people knew that the music came from Kaiba Records, it sold more because Kaiba Records was one damn famous company and known for good music - even if the music had been bad, the logo would've still made sells. But in these covers the logo was barely visible, smallest mark in the bottom and nothing more. It was unheard of but apparently Kaiba thought that Mutô didn't need any extra thrust to make sells.

Another piece started and Mahado saw something incredible. Atemu raised his face and true smile tugged on his lips.

-

"I want this to be send to Mutô Yugi," Atemu said about week after the CD had been released. He was handing an envelope to Mahado - envelope thick with papers that were concealed inside.

Cautiously taking the heavy envelope into his hand, Mahado frowned a bit. The initial excitement Atemu had felt about Mutô Yugi's music had very quickly escalated into full fledged fandom. And if idea of Atemu being someone's fan wasn't strange enough, the model was nearly obsessed with Mutô. He played the CD everywhere, even took it with him to photo shoots. And because there was no pictures of Mutô except for the one in the CD booklet, Atemu had taken in _drawing_ the artist. It was really creepy from time to time.

"What is this?" Mahado asked carefully, not sure if he wanted to know what Atemu was writing to the sixteen-year-old artist.

"Just something I wrote. See that he gets it, okay?"

The manager sighed, looking at the letter. The envelope was made of really expensive paper, he noticed. "As you wish," he murmured and secretly hoped that Atemu's obsession wouldn't get any worse. It was getting kind of scary.

-

In the Kaiba Records, Yugi was being smothered by fan mail - literally, the stacks of letters were taller than he was. Still not able to believe that he - _he_, little Yugi of abandoned music room - had been able to move this many people, he wondered how he could read all of the letters. Seto had said that there was no use in reading them, most of them were just rubbish, but Yugi couldn't believe that.

"Maybe we should just get these all delivered to the game store and you could read them on your free time?" Mokuba asked, he too eying the pile of letters warily as if waiting it to topple over.

"Y-yeah that would be good I su-suppose," Yugi nodded before noticing one letter that looked thicker than most of the rest. Curiosity getting the best of him, he took the letter to his hand and turned it over. There was no return address.

"That's really expensive paper," Mokuba leaned in to look at the envelope. "Must be from someone wealthy. Well, what ever. I'll have some people bag these up and take to your home, okay?"

"R-right," Yugi nodded and sat down while his manager left. Carefully he opened the letter in his hands, and pulled out the sheets of paper inside - there was really many of them. Unfolding them, Yugi expected to see long lines of text but instead he saw rather little writing in the sheet. Blinking Yugi quickly looked through the other sheets and saw that none of them was actually a _letters_.

They were lyrics. Lyrics to his pieces - three versions of each seven, one in Japanese, one in English and one… Arabic? Confused and curious in the same time, Yugi read through the Japanese versions before reading the English version and finally the Arabic ones, for one not wincing at the idea of being able to read language he had never studied.

The lyrics weren't only written for his songs, but they were _good_ lyrics. Singing them in his mind while remembering the music, he wondered how well they fit. The rhythm was just right and not only that, but the lyrics themselves were so well written, telling the tales of the Sennen Items. Yugi couldn't remember the myth that well himself, but who ever had written the lyrics could.

Too curious now, Yugi took the sheets and left the room, heading towards Mokuba's recording studio, thankful of the fact that he was in the right floor and wouldn't have to go through the new security systems. After someone had broken into the building, Seto had added voice identification system to the earlier security systems and Yugi felt always a bit awkward trying speaking his name without stuttering.

Entering the isolation booth, Yugi's eyes searched for something that he had never used before. Music stand. Carrying three of them over, to the spot where he usually played, he spreaded the lyrics to them before taking his guitar. He was aware that his voice wasn't made for singing - scratch that, he had horrible voice - but he still wanted to hear if the lyric sounded as good in his ears as they did in his mind. At least he didn't stutter while singing.

Playing the first notes few times to warm his fingers, Yugi started the difficult playing of the _Puzzle_. Then he stared to sing the lyrics, immediately awed by the skill of who ever had written them. They fit so _perfectly_ and he could even listen to it without feeling sick at all. Until then he hadn't even considered adding lyrics to his music, but now… his voice was horrible, yes, but the lyrics made it sound slightly better.

Yugi sang through the _Puzzle_ in all three languages before switching instrument and song - not even noticing that the pieces had turned into songs in his mind. He didn't notice Mokuba entering the recording studio either, just concentrating onto the lyrics, and marvelling them even while singing them. Going through ach seven pieces three times took well over an hour. When he finally finished singing the _Eye_ in Arabic, he heard Mokuba's voice from the door.

"We need to get vocalist to work with you," the young manager said. "Where did you get those lyrics anyway?"

"Th-they were in the le-letter," Yugi said. "T-there was n-nothing else b-but the l-lyrics in it."

"Well, who ever made them send them to you so I guess they want you to use them. And we will use them," Mokuba nodded sternly before turning around. "Come, we need to speak to Seto right now."

The president of the Kaiba Records was as surprised about the idea of there being singing in Yugi's pieces as Yugi himself was, but after hearing the tape Mokuba had taken of Yugi's singing he turned very interested. "You think you can handle it, though?" the president asked from Yugi. "Someone else singing while you play, that is?"

"W-with these ly-lyrics I think I c-can," Yugi nodded. "A-as lo-long as the-there won't be m-more than o-one singer."

Seto nodded, for a moment thinking something carefully. They were still having problems with Yugi's hearing. People were screaming for a concert which they couldn't give because of the hearing problem - Seto had planned to have Yugi perform live on some programs yes, but concert was still out of the pictures.

"Picking the vocalist won't be easy though, they have to match the music and I'm not sure if I have any vocalist with that kind of skill," the producer frowned a little. He glanced at Yugi. "Any gender preferences?"

"I think the songs will work best with male vocalist," Mokuba said and Yugi nodded.

"Hm… well then --" Seto was interrupted as the door behind Yugi and Mokuba _bursted_ open.

"Kaiba!" fake cheerful voice called as Yugi and Mokuba turned around to see Namonaki Yami entering the office. "Ooh, you have company? The more the merrier!"

"Damn it, Namonaki!" Seto stood up, looking annoyed. "How did you get pass the security system?! There's no way even you could get past the voice identification!"

"That's for me to know and you to go insane wondering about," the artist smirked widely.

"I should have your ass arrested - no, let me rephrase that," the produce growled and to Yugi's horror pulled out a handgun from underneath his jacked. "I should _shoot_ your ass right now!"

"Woah, calm down," the world famous singer raised his hands in surrender. "What's little breaking and entering between friends, huh?"

"You son of a --"

"Wait, Seto," Mokuba interrupted, looking at Namonaki with somewhat diabolical smirk. "Don't shoot him yet. Let's make use of him first and dispose him later. After all, who better could we find to sing Yugi's songs?"

While Namonaki looked surprised, Seto started to smirk. "Excellent idea, Mokuba."

Yugi looked at the famous vocalist with slight blush while the vocalist stared back with startled eyes. Namonaki singing to his playing?

---

Speak of the devil moment there... I was lazy with this chapter, though... and I don't like Atemu in this one, he came out too weird and depressed. I'll put more effort to the next chapter.

**Evarinya** You don't want my brain, the thing is useless. _Ryô _is just my own quirky way of writing Ryou's name, like I write Mutou _Mutô _and occasionally Yugi _Yûgi_. And no one but me knows what GPzero is, yet. They just guess.

Sorry for the sucky grammar and thank you all for your reviews.


	7. VI Chapter

**VI chapter**

"Eighty percent?!" Kaiba Seto cried, looking at the smug looking white haired man in disbelief. "Are you insane?"

"Quite sane in fact," Kul'elna Bakura smiled smugly. "Sane enough to know that little deal of us will hang mostly on Yami. His fame will give your little songs publicly they wouldn't other wise get, so of course most of profit belongs to us. Your little who-ever-he-was will just be along for the ride."

"You _are_ insane," the other producer looked outraged. "Namonaki's so called _fame_ doesn't have a damn thing to do with it. Yugi's album sold out in a _day_, Bakura, and it was published word wide, so I don't think those songs need any more fame. And what the heck do you mean _along the ride_?! Have you even _heard_ any of Yugi's pieces?!"

"Fame, voice, the same thing. Yami will still be the one bringing most listeners," Bakura motioned dismissingly with his hand. "And I don't really care what kind of music this little artist of yours makes. It's eighty percent or Yami won't be singing a single note for you."

"Can't _I_ decide that?" the singer himself asked, looking about as outraged as Seto while Yugi was feeling slightly afraid of the whole conversation. Mokuba and Namonaki's manager Ryô just looked slightly amused.

"Shut up, Yami," Bakura and Seto snapped at him in unison before continuing their rather loud dispute.

"Looks like they're going to be at it for a while," Mokuba spoke to Ryô over Yugi while Namonaki slumped in his chair, sulking.

"They always are. Glass Box still open?" Ryô asked with smile.

"Should be. Come on, Yugi, let's leave the big shots to their delicate discussion," Mokuba took the petite artist's hand and led him out of the room. Amused Ryô and the slightly sulking vocalist he managed followed them, leaving the two producers to argue.

"Don't worry about it, Yugi," Mokuba chuckled as they headed towards the elevator. He was rubbing the back of Yugi's palm with his thump in faint attempt to try and make Yugi calm down. "Seto and Bakura are always like that, yelling at each other."

"Both are cocky, arrogant bastards," Namonaki murmured sulkily.

"Well… I would say that Seto is arrogant bastard, Bakura is outrageous bastard as I see it," Ryô chuckled while Mokuba inserted his key cart, password and spoke his name to the elevator to make it open. The white haired manager shook his head amusedly. "Eighty percent, he really is nuts."

"Your loyalty to your husband is really admirable, Ryô," Mokuba shook his head amusedly, making Yugi look up with surprise. Husband?

"I'm just being truthful. Bakura is outrageous, insane and a bastard," the manager said innocently as they stepped into the elevator. Then the white haired young man smirked. "He's also very lucky because that's the way I love him."

"You're just as insane as a he is," Namonaki rolled his eyes.

Yugi lowered his eyes to the elevator floor as the doors closed. Ryô and Bakura were married? But Ryô seemed so young and nice while Bakura was kind of… mean. Not to mention that Yugi had thought it to be not possible for two men to get married.

" Las Vegas," Ryô whispered to him, making Yugi nearly jump with surprise. The white haired manger winked. "And a hand gun. I have to admit getting married while having the priest at gun point - not to mention drunk out of his mind - isn't exactly what one could call a dream wedding… but that's Bakura's way of being romantic, his way of being sweet."

"You don't have anything against it, right?" Mokuba asked worryingly. "This unholy union of your playing and Yami's singing will require you to be at ease with things, you know."

"N-no, I h-have nothing a-against it," Yugi shook his head, blushing heavily. He really didn't and even if he did there was no way he was going to let something like that stand in way of him finally hearing Namonaki sing.

"Good," Ryô smiled. "Because with my marriage being still this young, I'm probably going to be bringing it up as often as I can."

"He really does, it's getting a bit tiresome," Namonaki smirked, and quickly avoided his Manager who tried to hit his shoulder.

The elevator stilled and the doors were opened, revealing not a corridor like in all of the other levels but large open space lit by natural light. The cafeteria of the Kaiba Records building was almost famous because it was in the top of the tall building and instead of walls and ceiling there was only glass - it was literally a glass box, only solid walls being in the middle where were the kitchens, toilets and the elevators. The view from the Glass Box was amazing, and somehow the fact that Seto's helicopter could be seen just outside the window made it the more special. It was really no wonder why most reporters wanted to interview Seto's idols in the Glass Box.

While they walked to the counter to order what ever they were going to take, Yugi sighed slightly. He knew that many papers and few music stations and programs had tried to get interview from him - Seto and Mokuba had discussed about it once when they hadn't know Yugi was listening. The brothers had talked how usually they used the interviews as good way to boost the publicly of their idols and so forth. With Yugi they just couldn't because with the shyness and stutter it just would work. And when you really got down to it, Yugi wasn't that interesting person. He had exciting talent, yes, but his background was pretty normal.

Partially Yugi was happy because of their rather belittling opinion of him - when they didn't think his past was anything interesting, they wouldn't look into it. But he still couldn't help but feel a little hurt and embarrassed, even while he hoped that he would never have to go through a single interview.

"Yugi?" Mokuba nudged at his side. "Aren't you going to pick something?"

"Oh, sorry," Yugi murmured and quickly looked at what the cafeteria was offering. Picking hot chocolate and small chocolate pastry, Yugi handed his key card to the cashier who ran it through the register. After getting the card back he followed the others to table in the corner where they could catch the best view of the city.

"So. Ryô, now that you're seen both our stars," Mokuba spoke stirring his coffee. "What do you think will ensue of their musical union?"

"Well, Mokuba, we'll probably see world wide hysteria, screaming women, piles of fan mail and few public marriage proposals," Ryô said seriously making Mokuba snicker.

"It was _one_ proposal, _one_!" outraged Namonaki cried. "I can't believe you're still bringing up it."

"M-marriage proposal?" Yugi asked carefully, curious to know what could make the vocalist blush like that.

"About year ago in one American music festival where Yami was performing, one American solo-artist ended her performance by proposing Yami," Ryô explained with a wide smirk. "Before an audience of over twenty thousand people and in _live_ TV. She had a ring and even got to her knees and everything."

"She was on drugs," Namonaki murmured sulkily.

"Yeah, we later found that she had been smoking marihuana or something similar backstage, but she still had been planning the proposal for weeks. She was counting on Yami being unable to say no before such audience," Ryô laughed. "The way Yami flipped at her is legendary; you still see pictures of it in music magazines."

"Yeah, I think I have the tape," Mokuba murmured with a slight smile. "I'll show if you later, Yugi, if you want to see it -- or maybe not," he grimaced at the sight of Yugi stiffening at the idea of watching TV. "I still keep forgetting that you can't watch TV."

"Huh?" Ryô asked with confusion.

"I told you, Mutô's hearing problem," Namonaki said with a slight frown.

"You did, I just didn't think… you can't watch TV? At all?" Ryô asked, worried.

Yugi grimaced. "I c-can… but it i-isn't… i-it hurts."

"And you don't know what causes it?" The white haired manager asked from Mokuba.

"No, we do know. Yugi's hearing is simply too good. He can hear better than some _dogs_ can, or at least that's what the doctor said. He can probably hear dog whistle - can you?" Mokuba turned to the artists

"I ha-haven't tried," Yugi blushed a little. The doctor hadn't been able to make heads or tails of his ears. No wonder really, his ears were… unique.

"And there's no way of helping it, to make his hearing… worse, or something?" Ryô asked curiously.

"Seto has one of his friends working on some kind of device for Yugi which would allow him to hear things the same way we hear them, but until it's done…" Mokuba shrugged and sipped his coffee. "Right now it doesn't matter, though. Yugi's first album hasn't been out for longer than three weeks, so we have no hurries."

Namonaki frowned. "But… will it affect us working together. I mean, you obviously can listen to yourself playing, but with me singing along…" he looked just a little worried.

"Wi-with th-those lyrics," Yugi smiled a little. "W-with them I can."

"Yugi has _crush_ on those lyrics," Mokuba rolled his eyes and chuckled, making Yugi blush so that even his ears were burning hot.

"What?" Ryô asked half curiously, half amusedly.

"It's true. Yugi really loves the lyrics - he carries the original copies everywhere, probably has them with him right now. Do you?" Yugi couldn't help but nod embarrassedly, feeling the folds of paper burn in his pocket. Mokuba smirked.

"But… aren't they Yugi's lyrics?"

"Nope. They were sent in a letter - by some fan I guess," the fourteen-year-old manager explained. "Twenty one sheets of paper, three versions of every song and nothing else. Not even return address."

"And I'm going to sing them? Lyrics written by a fan?" Namonaki asked with disbelief.

Yugi frowned a little at his tone before quickly hiding the expression by ducking his head and sipping his chocolate. The vocalist hadn't read the lyrics yet; he didn't know how beautiful they were and how well they fit the songs, so it was his right to be suspicious. In this world the word fan usually rouse images of screaming girls crying for autographs, so…

"Now he's mad at you, Yami," Mokuba said, bowing his head low to see Yugi's expression. "For decrying his song writer." Yugi pouted a little but didn't say anything.

"If Mutô thinks the lyrics are good enough for his songs then I believe him," Namonaki shrugged. "With his music being what it is he knows what he's talking about. But still… a fan?"

"How about," Ryô spoke thoughtfully. "How about after we have finished our deserts we head to Mokuba's studio and try the lyrics out, hm? See if Yugi's crush is worth it?"

"Works for me," Namonaki nodded and sipped his coffee.

After they had finished their drinks and snacks in the Glass Box, they headed towards the elevator to the level fourteen. Soon they were in the studio that was becoming Yugi's second home. While Yugi took his electric guitar, Mokuba found a microphone for Namonaki.

"I'm almost giddy," Ryô murmured while watching Yugi flex his fingers. "Yami said that Yugi has fastest hands ever, I really want to see that."

"Try to keep your jaw from dropping, though," Namonaki murmured and looked around. "Can I have a copy of the lyrics?"

"Seeing that Yugi picked guitar we'll be trying the _Puzzle_," Mokuba murmured and searched for one of the many copies they had made of the lyrics. Finding them quickly he handed the sheet of paper to the vocalist.

"Okay… Can we run through the song once before I try to sing these?" Namonaki asked.

Mokuba looked towards Yugi expectantly. Yugi nodded and the manager nodded back. "Yeah. You can start when ever you are ready; I'll get the studio ready."

"We'll be recording it already?" Ryô asked with surprised tone.

"We try to record every single thing Yugi plays. Even if he's just flexing his fingers it's priceless," Mokuba said and led the other. As the sound proof door closed behind them, Yugi ran his fingers along the strings and glanced at the vocalist who was reading through the lyrics.

"S-should I st-start?" the petite artist asked.

"Yeah, go ahead when ever you'd like," Namonaki nodded.

Yugi took a breath and started to play the _Puzzle_. It felt like he hadn't been playing anything else for a long time as his fingers worked on their own. His hands knew the song so well that he didn't even need to think about it. While playing the hardest part where he had to move his right hand the quickest, it didn't even hurt anymore. Usually it strained on his wrist slightly, but now… And it kind of felt like the piece had lost the emotion and soul that he had concealed inside it.

Then he heard something that made him nearly stop. Looking up in surprise, he saw Namonaki swaying just a bit in the music. The man was humming along with his playing; trying to find the perfect spot for is voice in the music's side. The vocalist was concentrating onto the music and onto the lyrics, not even noticing that Yugi was looking at him.

Yugi swallowed, and quickly turned his eyes back to the guitar. Even while humming Namonaki wasn't trying to override his playing, he wasn't trying to find a spot where his voice would go completely over the music. None of Yugi's pieces were made to be sung, so there were no spots where the music was _quiet_ or _dull_. There was no chorus, and there were no pauses, so Yugi had been a bit afraid that Namonaki would ruin the music with singing… but even while _humming_ the man was mindful to the music.

Namonaki understood, Yugi realised. This wasn't going to be song, not exactly. It was going to be duet of human voice and instrument and the man understood that just like the person who had written the lyrics had. Yugi smiled a little, feeling a whole lot better about the whole thing.

"Yeah," Namonaki murmured after Yugi had played the last notes. "I can now see why you like these lyrics. Damn, I've never had the pleasure of singing something like this." the man looked up and Yugi could see that he now shared Yugi's enthusiasm about the lyrics. "Are the others like this?"

Yugi nodded. "In thr-three languages."

"Which other languages?"

"E-English and A-Arabic."

"Cool, I hope I'll get to sing them all," Namonaki murmured and looked towards the window separating the isolation box and the studio. Yugi couldn't help but chuckle at the face Ryô was making. Now that he was getting used to the idea that his playing wasn't something people usually saw, the reactions were amusing.

"Oh, a laugh," Namonaki said to him with a smirk. "Does this mean you're getting more comfortable around me?"

Yugi blushed a little, and glanced at the singer. "M-maybe a little."

"Does it mean I can call you Yugi now?"

"I g-guess so… Y-Yami," Yugi smiled shyly, and was given a smile back.

"Okay," Mokuba's voice spoke through the small speakers near the window. "Ignoring Ryô's sputtering over here… are you two ready to go? Yami, ready?"

"More than," Namonaki nodded and took his microphone. Yugi swallowed and looked Mokuba for the sign. His manager nodded his head, after which Yugi waited for six seconds before starting to play - and this time he was playing with feeling, his need to hear Namonaki sing bleeding into the song.

The singer didn't start where Yugi had when he had sung the songs. He waited few beats before starting - and it was so much better. Starting softly along with Yugi's urgent playing, the man not only knew exactly what he was doing but he had the voice to do it. Even though he wasn't using much force, his voice was clear and just… perfect.

And when the Yugi started the hardest part, so did Yami. Yugi hadn't heard much singing in his life because he couldn't listen to things like that, but even he could tell that Yami was something else. His voice was just everything the song needed; it perfected the song in way Yugi hadn't imagined to be possible. Dark and velvety it was just… gorgeous.

Swallowing the strange feeling creeping up his throat, Yugi looked down to the guitar to hide his expression. He had liked the lyrics just hearing them, adored them for how well they fit his song, but now… with Yami singing them he was completely in love with them.

"Well… fuck," Bakura's voice came through the speakers once they had ended the song, making Yugi and Yami both look up to see that the producers had joined their managers in the studio. Seto looked too smug for his own good while Bakura looked shocked. "Holy hell!"

"Told you so," Seto said smugly.

The white haired producer cursed. "I really shouldn't have settled for fifty percent, damn it!"

---

I'm not even gonna apologise for this chapter because I know it sucks, no apologies won't help that. I'm going to find a dark corner now and be ashamed...


	8. VII Chapter

**VII Chapter**

The blending Kaiba Records and Millennium Item proved to be success beyond belief. No one who heard Yami sing to Yugi's playing could deny how they fit each other. Thinking back to Yami's career, they would remember how they had always felt that no band truly matched Yami's voice, forcing the singer to sing harder to cover the average music and leaving every song, no matter how amazing, lacking. But in Yugi's playing the brilliance that was the greatest voice in earth found its equal.

The first single that held four versions of the song _Puzzle_ - one instrumental, one Japanese, one Arabic and one English - was sold out even quicker than Yugi's initial album had been. Different versions of the songs were played everywhere, and everyone was talking about it.

Every one was also screaming for one thing Seto hadn't yet given them. Pictures of Yugi - and Yugi and Yami. The first photo shoot Yugi went through with Yami had been interesting experience… to say at least. He remembered Bakura laughing somewhere in the back with malicious tone, Yami yelling at Seto for some little thing, Mai trying million different hats on him out of sight and Mokuba and Ryô having the time of their live helping pick outfits. Yugi had never felt quite as doll-like as then. And before he knew it the photographer was giving him and Yami directions while taking pictures of them every possible angle.

The photographer had said that he was natural, and how he had looked like he was made to be in the picture with Yami. As he had been confused out of his mind and embarrassed enough to blush all the way down his neck through the whole ordeal, Yugi really couldn't how he was a 'natural'. To him the day had been the strangest one yet in his short career of being musical performer.

After one photo shoot came another… and another… soon they had a calendar and photo book out in stores about him and Yami titled as "Dark Game". After that came the screams for interviews - but thankfully Yami, Ryô and Mokuba handled them. Finally, when Yugi had thought that he had survived the worst of it Seto and Bakura pulled something horrible out of their hat. They were planning Yami's and Yugi's first music video… or arguing about it anyway.

Arguing about the theme, about where it would be shot, about who they would have directing, about this, about that… until Mokuba sighed and turned to Yugi. "It's your music. What kind of video you want for it?"

There was silence as everyone stared Yugi. Shrinking under the gaze of producers, managers and one singer, Yugi wondered why they were asking him about that. He had created the music, yes, he had given piece of his soul to it, yes… but the lyrics, they didn't come from his heart. As much as he loved them they weren't his and he didn't know the story behind them. Not the entire story.

"I…" Yugi hesitated, just a bit embarrassed but still… unable to not say it. "I w-would… ask that qu-question from the pe-person who wr-wrote the lyrics."

"But we don't know who wrote them, right?" Yami asked with a frown. "I like the lyrics too, who ever wrote them has great skills, but… we don't know who they are."

"But we could try to find out," Mokuba turned to his brother. "Who ever wrote the lyrics but a great effort to them, right? So, they _must_ like Yugi's music, maybe even more than average fan does. Maybe they're paying attention to the interviews and such… so, even without knowing who they are or where they are we maybe could send a message to them. Ask them to come forth."

"And we would get thousands of fans writing back, pretending to be the one," Seto frowned shaking his head. "Beside how could we be sure they would even hear our shout?"

"I-I can recognise the ha-hand writing," Yugi said meekly.

"Out of thousands letters you could pick the right one by hand writing?" Bakura asked incredulously.

"I-I can," Yugi nodded and hid his grimace. One of his many talents he didn't usually bring up in conversations.

"I think we can make our shout loud enough for our song writer to hear it," Ryô smiled. "We put Yugi on TV. Not concert, not interview… guest performer in a late night show, six minutes I fame and few words and that's it."

"He has a point," Mokuba snapped his fingers and looked at the producers. "It's not big enough to force us to do anything major but among the fans it will be the biggest thing since the single came out. If we spread a word about it in the internet… every single fan in the world will be watching the show."

"Big shout, I like that," Bakura said, nodding. "I don't see the point in trying to find some ghost writer, but I like this plan."

"Insane enough for his tastes," Ryô chuckled before looking at Yugi. "Do you think you could handle this plan?"

Could he overcome his fear for media to find his song writer? Yugi frowned a little. He really, really, _really_ wanted to meet the person who wrote the lyrics… but to go before the masses…? It had been ahead of him ever since he had signed Seto's documents, but… this soon? Or was it that soon? How long had he been working in the Kaiba Records anyway? Half year?

"Yugi's speechless," Mokuba whispered to the others. "He stutters a lot and is quiet, but I've never seen him speechless before him."

Yugi smiled slightly. He was scared to death about going into the TV. He knew for a fact that there were still scientists out there, survivors of fire… who sure as hell could tell who he was by just looking at his eyes. "If I ca-can if… if I c-can be absolutely s-sure that my face won't be s-seen."

The others frowned at him. They knew he was scared of the media and they knew that he was even more scared about showing his face and hair - in the entire room only Mokuba had seen his hair and even he hadn't seen Yugi's eyes. But they hadn't realised that the two fears were connected.

"You have enemies out there, Yugi?" Bakura asked lightly, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "Someone who would recognise you if they saw your face?"

Yugi flinched a little and bowed his head. Enemies, no, not really. They didn't want to hurt him, that was the last thing in their mind. "I ju-just… I just don't want p-people to see."

"Yugi," Yami spoke for the first time in a while. "It's not just that. I can tell if a person lies from their voice, it gets tense. Your voice is tense."

Yugi froze before glancing up to the singer. Yami could tell if person lied from their voice? The artist could understand that, he knew the principles more than well enough seeing that he could do the same thing, but he was… Yami wasn't… was he? Yugi shook his head and looked away. He _didn't_ want to think about that. "J-just…" he couldn't continue, didn't want to continue. Did _not_ want to think about any of it.

The others glanced at each other worryingly. "I guess we could ensure that your face wouldn't be seen," Seto said while folding his hands and looking at Yugi with studying eyes. "But are you sure nothing --"

"Its fine," Yugi murmured and hugged himself even though he knew all too well it wasn't.

Later that same day when Seto's driver had dropped Yugi to the doorsteps of his grandfather's music store, Yugi had made a decision. The fear had been lurking in his mind since he had first seen Namonaki Yami's and Pharaoh Atemu's faces, and it was now time to take some… safety measures.

"Grandpa?" Yugi called quietly after closing the door of the music shop. "A-are you here? Gra-gramps?"

"I'm in the back Yugi," the old man's voice came from behind the curtains that separated the shop and the storage room. "You're home early, usually you won't come until eight," the old man chuckled. "I would say that the Kaiba's are being slave drivers if I didn't know you like it more there than here."

Yugi smiled slightly and pushed the curtain aside. "Th-they want me to go to the te-television. S-some late n-night show."

Sugoroku looked up. "Are you okay with that?"

"I…" Yugi smiled crookedly and nodded. "B-but in case… in case that it d-doesn't go like they pl-plan it… I ne-need to tell you s-something."

"In case it doesn't go as planned? Tell me something?" the old man looked confused.

Yugi nodded. "I-its about wh-what happened six years ago… the t-two weeks I was m-missing. S-someone needs to k-know… just in case."

Immediately the old man's expression turned serious. "Let me close the shop," he said. "Then we'll talk."

-

Seth watched his cousin amusedly as Atemu glanced his watch for the tenth time in the last two minutes. In all the years of knowing his cousin he had never seen Atemu act quite like this - and given that Seth had known the other man longer than he could even remember it was saying a lot. The other model just never seemed impatient - when he was he turned commanding and quiet and you could never quite tell if he was agitated or not. But now… Atemu was glancing his watch again.

It was amazing what a music could do a person. Atemu had changed incredibly much since he had heard Mutô's music from the first time. The fake smile and pretence was still there, but Atemu was showing something that had been lacking since they had been kids. Personality. Before the man had been like block of ice that could be sculptured into any position and any facial expression but which would never have any warmth. Now the ice was melting in Mutô's music and you could see hints of the man hidden inside.

Seth had to admit that it was, like Mahado and Mana put it, creepy from time to time. Atemu was as good at drawing as he was in dancing so it was always a pleasure to see his works, but he had _piles_ of pictures he had drawn of Mutô. And that had been _before_ the posters, calendars and such of Mutô and Namonaki were published, before the _Sennen Puzzle_ single had came out. Then it had been like explosion would've happened - well, after Atemu had regained his senses, for some reason hearing the song version of the music had shocked him a lot. After that Atemu was constantly drawing Mutô and Namonaki, he never listened to any other music, he had every interview about the Mutô/Namonaki collaboration on tape and he had probably memorised everything Namonaki Yami, Kul'elna Ryô and Kaiba Mokuba had said about Mutô.

And now the man who was known as the Ice King in the modelling business was waiting a _late night show_ like giddy girl just because Mutô was going to be on. Watching his cousin look at his watch yet again, Seth wondered amusedly what his cousin's reaction would be. Then, not for the first time, he wondered if his cousin danced to Mutô's music in the privacy of his enormous bedroom. Probably, Atemu had tendency of doing that with music he really liked, which then lead Seth to wonder what it looked like, Atemu dancing to tunes he loved as much as he loved Mutô's.

Finally the show started. Atemu's impatience only got worse, though, because he would still have to wait for twenty five minutes until the end of the show before Mutô would be on. Seth couldn't help but smile at the way his cousin frowned at the television as the host of the show made poor jokes and comedy before even starting the show. When the host announced the night's guests - some actor and of course Namonaki and Mutô - the brown haired model could've sworn he heard his cousin inhale sharply just before the roar of applause from the audience in the show's studio boomed out from the speakers.

"I guess you're not only one anticipating this performance," Seth said amusedly. "Seems like the set in there is filled with Dark Game fans." Dark Game, he mused as Atemu completely ignored him. What a fitting name to the collaboration. Yami meant dark and Yugi meant game, so…

"Hurry up," Atemu murmured impatiently as the first guest came. He was nearly cringing his teeth as the actor spoke about himself and about some movie coming soon or something of the sort. Seth chuckled softly to him and leaned his head lazily onto the divan.

Atemu didn't seem to be the only one impatient, though. Half way through the actor's interview, the crowd started chanting "Yami Yugi, Yami Yugi," over and over. The host tried to crack a joke about it while the actor looked insulted, but the audience continued to chant until the host called a commercial break. It was quite clear that very few were interested about the poor actor. Normally Seth would've felt sorry for the man, but this was just too amusing.

When the break was over the host continued with the actor, their audience somewhat quieted down. Atemu was getting more and more impatient, and it was clear that the final minutes were like torture until the actor finally left and the host finally announced the two performers.

_I should've gotten a video camera,_ Seth mused to himself watching how Atemu leaned forward, holding his breath. When the television was finally showing an image of Namonaki and Mutô sitting on stools, one holding microphone and other holding electric guitar… the sigh that came from Atemu's lips sounded like something that belonged to bedroom. Even if he couldn't see Mutô's face due to the blond hair and visor of mau-cap, just seeing him _move_ was enough to make Atemu ecstatic.

"So," the host of the show spoke in the TV. "I understand this is first television performance for you, Mr Mutô,"

The petite musician bowed his head but didn't answer. Namonaki beside him smiled and spoke. "It is. Don't mind if Yugi doesn't speak. He's just being shy."

"I don't wonder if he is. First live performance and so young… I would be too," the host chuckled. "So, what will you perform for us tonight?"

"The _Puzzle_ of course," Namonaki said and glanced towards the young musician beside him. Mutô nodded just slightly, and the vocalist turned to look at the camera. "Now, I want to make sure that all you know that these aren't my words as I say this," he warned before smiling strangely. "Yugi wants to dedicate his first life performance to the beautiful soul who wrote the lyrics, with wishes that his song writer would agree to do teamwork with him."

Atemu was gaping at the TV now. Seth had to blink twice before he believed that his cousin's mouth was actually hanging open. And then the brown haired model forgot the whole thing as Mutô Yugi started to play. His eyes were drawn back to the screen and soon he was gaping too.

He hadn't believed it before, hadn't trusted the written words saying that Mutô had played his pieces with single instrument and without heavy editing. But now, seeing how _fast_ those hands worked, how nimbly those fingers danced over the strings and how the edges of those hands broke because camera that shot twenty-four frames per second couldn't keep up, he turned into believer. And even in that speed, even when the speed was high enough to allow Muto play like band all by himself, the music was so incredibly beautiful. Even with that speed, even when it was one of the most complicated pieces he had ever heard, it was calm and haunting.

And then Namonaki begun to sing, his dark velvet voice right at home beside that complicated playing. If Seth would've looked or listened, he would've seen his cousin's face twist into needy expression and heard shuddering sigh escape his lips. But he didn't because he, just like the audience, just like the millions of watchers now following the show, couldn't tear his eyes or ears away from the two musicians. And even while his eyes and ears basked on what he was experiencing, his mind rested on the lyrics, feeling them all the way down to his soul.

When the music finally ended and Namonaki sang is final notes, the silence was _deafening_ for few moments. Glancing towards Atemu, Seth saw nearly _sated_ look on his cousin's face, before the boom of applause coming from the television drew his attention away. Watching Namonaki wave to the audience while Mutô was blushing, Seth felt like he had been, for a moment, had the privilege to experience something divine.

That's why it took him a moment to comprehend what happened in the television. The applause continued even louder than before. Mutô shrunk slightly in his stool, shaking and shivering as if cold. Then he was suddenly holding his hands over his ears. Namonaki turned to him in worry as the clapping continued and then… blood. Seth could see blood dribbling down from underneath Mutô's palms.

Then the musician fell, his chair falling along side him. Namonaki cried, applause turned into silence and camera zoomed. Mutô's mau-cap had fell, his hair - in two different colours like Namonaki's except in colder shades - had been swept aside and everyone could his face. The teen's features were twisted with pain as blood poured from underneath his hands that were still covering his ears.

And even though the blood should've taken his attention, Seth eyes were drawn into Mutô's. It was no wonder really. He had never seen such colour - the irises were coloured with the most artificial violet he had ever seen. It was almost like colour of some neon-lights.

-

A man watched the image of the pained violet eyed artist that was frozen on his TV screen with thoughtful eyes. He leaned his head against the back rest of his arm-chair, moving his hand to whirl the sip of wine still left in his glass. "Well I'll be," he murmured with slightest smile. "You _are_ alive after all, aren't you, GPthree? And in the music business too… I wonder what it is with you GPmodels and show business. All of you seem to be drawn into it."

He sipped the wine and placed the glass down before taking out his phone. He dialled, waited and then spoke. "TK, could you do a favour for me? I would need you to do a full background check on Kaiba Record's newest project, Mutô Yugi. And then I would need you to bring him to me, as soon as possible. Yes, I'll pay you plenty; I'll even let you name the price. I knew I could count on you."

After finishing the phone call the man smiled before pouring himself another drink. "GPtwo after GPthree," he chuckled and raised his glass to the frozen image on the TV. "Cheers."

---

Uhuhuhu, teh plot is showing signs of life, now I'm all excited.

Answering questions randomly: Nuup, I don't celebrate Vappu, I was just being lazy and un-inspirated. Nuu, you can't have my brain, I kinda need it even if it's useles in real world. My name comes from a name I originally used in some distant corners of the 'net, _Endless II_ which came from one Breath of Fire game if I recal correctly, which was shortened into E-sama by some friends, which I then started to use permanatelly. It doesn't actually mean anything (Uesama would mean emperor, though), but if you rearrangle the letters you get Asema which is Finnish for Station which is another name I use now and then.

I'm so high on sugar and chocolate and overdose of tea that I'm not going to apologise for anything.


	9. VIII Chapter

**VIII chapter**

Mutô Yugi, age sixteen, former high school student current musician, born in June fourth to… blank. Mutô Sugoroku, age seventy-one, manager of instrument shop named Music Shop, who had… blank. TK shook his head amusedly to the records flickering on the computer screen. Interesting how Yugi could be the grandson of Mutô Sugoroku when he had no parents and Sugoroku had no children. But what was even more interesting was the fact that Mutô Yugi wasn't adopted either. Someone had tried to cover up these things. The work was sloppy, didn't hold water but slowed the flow - tight enough to make people ignore the holes in the records.

Delving deeper into to the world of internet hacking, TK soon found the health records of the young Mr Mutô. They started from when the boy was _two_. Nothing before that. No waterproof birth records, no early vaccinations… nothing of where the boy came from originally. Not that it was actually surprising, but there should've been _something_. How did the boy end up with Sugoroku? And who had tried to cover the lack of records by creating poor fake ones?

Why was Pegasus interested about this boy? Leaning back in his chair, TK pursed his lips in, deep thought. Mutô was becoming incredibly popular and with it incredibly rich - or Sugoroku was becoming rich seeing that he manager's his _grandson's_ money. But even so, even if the boy was musical genius, that couldn't be the only reason. Pegasus was one of the riches men in the world, he didn't need extra cash. And he wasn't jealous type either, so it couldn't be because Kaiba Records had the musician working for them. So why this boy?

"What is that is special in you, Mutô Yugi? Why is that bastard willing to allow _me_ to name the price? He knows I'll add six zeros in it," the man glared at the computer screen. "Who are you, Mutô Yugi and what is it in you that Pegasus wants…? Damn it, I want to know."

Growling quietly, he turned to another computer. He was surrounded by them - there were five of them around him, four more on another table, six more on another… and so on so on until the entire room was engulfed with the flickering lights of countless of computer screens and didn't need any other lights.

Annoyed for not knowing, he dug out everything he could. The health records didn't tell him… except that the boy had been admitted to hospital for three days when he had been ten… interesting. He had apparently had overdose of countless drugs, scarring from restrains… what the…

"Huh. Oh well, I love hacking into police records," TK smirked and switched computer. Soon he was in the system and reading classified files. Sugoroku had apparently called police because the boy had gone missing… and the boy had been missing for two weeks. He had been found under bridge, bruised in way that suggested that he had been restrained for a long while and with clothing that had suffered fire damage. He had been extremely disoriented, drugged in eight different ways, four of them unknown protein bases substances…

"You are suddenly getting interesting Mr Mutô," the man smiled. The police records didn't tell him much more, though. Young Mr Mutô had claimed that he couldn't remember what had happened when he had been questioned when the drugs had been _mostly_ cleared from his system. No one had doubted that claim, after all, the boy had been heavily drugged, but something didn't add up.

"Hiding something, they are always hiding something," TK muttered and read through the detailed report. Yeah… the boy hadn't asked the police to catch the person who had kidnapped and drugged him; he hadn't even asked if they would try. "You are kidnapped, held for two weeks, drugged, restrained, gods… you could've been raped, boy, and you didn't ask them to catch the guy who did it? Definitely hiding something."

"Let's go back to the medical records, hm?" he switched computers again. "And see exactly what drugs were you on, hm? Oh wait, what is this…. why Mr Mutô, were you just admitted into hospital? Well… now you are really interesting me."

-

"Clapping?" Ryô's voice sounded strange, high pitched and quivery as he stood in the hospital room, wrapped in his husband's arms and still shivering. Even Bakura looked slightly disturbed, but seeing blood seep out of someone's ears could have that effect. "Clapping caused this? I-I thought it was just music a-and…"

Seto grimaced, facing the floor rather than any of them while sitting in one of the benches of the waiting room. "Noises with separate sources. If all the applause had been artificial, coming from a machine Yugi could've maybe handled it, but… over fifty people, all clapping as hard as they could, cheering, whistling…" he snorted mirthlessly. "Makes me wonder how Yugi managed to go to school at all."

"By hiding in the abandoned music room in breaks between classes," Mokuba sighed while leaning his head back, looking slightly pale. "Gods! We checked and double checked for noises, made the show staff _swear_ that they wouldn't play music when Yugi was there… we checked everything, why didn't we realise this could happen?!"

"You can't prepare for everything," Yami murmured while running his shaky hand through his hair. Just like everyone else, he too was avoiding looking at anyone. "Even if you'd like to and no matter how you curse it afterwards… you can't prepare for everything."

"Unlike of you to be smart enough to say something like that," Bakura murmured with a frown, leaning his cheek against Ryô's and tightening his hold on him. "Damn I hate waiting like this."

"Everyone does," Ryô mumbled and looked at the others. "Do you think he will be okay?"

"It's just his ears, I doubt he's going to drop dead or anything" Bakura answered. "If he'll hear anything… that's another thing."

"You are so good in making us feel better," Mokuba glared the man. "Do keep up and I'll grab Seto's gun and shoot you."

"I have my own gun, I'll shoot you first. And I'm just being honest," the white haired producer turned and sat down, pulling Ryô to sit in his lap. The manager raised his eyebrows in question, making the other man shrug. "I got tired of standing. This is much more comfortable."

"I don't want to be comfortable. Yugi's not comfortable, I don't want to be better off than he is," Ryô pouted. "I want to be miserable."

"It wouldn't make you feel any better," Bakura shrugged and tightened his hold on his husband's waist.

"Which is exactly the point."

"If I weren't worried out of my mind I would _aww_ at you for being so married," Yami rolled his eyes and looked up as one of the doctors approached.

"You're all with Mutô Yugi, right?" he said. "Any of you part of his family?"

"No, but his grandfather is on the way here. He should be here any moment," Seto spoke while standing. In his face there was rare expression of worry as he looked at the doctor. "How is Yugi?"

"Well, we've managed to make the bleeding stop and find out the cause, but…" the doctor frowned, looking slightly confused. "We can easily tell that both his eardrums have ruptured. Or well, all of them anyway."

"All of them instead do both of them?" Bakura asked with confusion while the others looked shocked. "What does that mean?"

"What we can make up from the remains of the inner workings of his ears tell us that he had several eardrums in each ear. _Had_ being the key word because all of them are in pieces now," the doctor shook his head. "That's not all. The bones inside his ear, that I suppose work like malleus and incus would, have shattered as well…"

"Ignoring what his ears have been like or are like now… can he hear again?" Seto asked with dread in his voice. The others looked at the doctor with similar hopes and dreads in their face.

The man in white coat sighed. "I'm sorry. There is nothing we could do about his hearing even if we knew how his ears worked originally."

"Yugi… Yugi is _deaf_?" Mokuba whispered, what little was left of colour in his face now draining away. Seto sank back to the seat beside him with shocked look on his face.

"I am truly sorry," the doctor sighed again and motioned towards the direction he had came from. "You can go to see him if you wish to."

"Please," Yami said and was first to follow the doctor while the others still gathered themselves.

"I guess that's it then," Bakura snorted. "One single, some pictures, one lousy TV-performance and that's it."

"What are you talking about?" Seto glared the other producer.

"You know what I'm talking about if Mutô's deaf, he won't be any use to any of us," the white haired man shrugged, ignoring the shocked look Ryô was giving him. "I mean, there's no way the squirt can make any music without being able to hear, not to even mention of something of his previous level --"

"You shut your mouth," Mokuba growled while standing up. "Yugi's stronger than you think, and he loves nothing like he loves music. He'll overcome this, you'll see." Then he walked away with angry steps.

"I suggest you get the hell out of this hospital, Kul'elna, before I shoot you, and make you a permanent patient here," Seto hissed before following his little brother.

"Hm," the white haired producer snorted, watching him go. Ryô glared at him and was just about to start berating him before his husband silenced with a slightest peck to the lips. "Relax," Bakura smiled. "I just wanted to know how they would respond; if Mutô was more than just another idol to them. I guess even the untouchable Kaibas can feel attachment."

"You're horrible," Ryô sighed in defeated tone.

"Yes, and you love me," the producer smirked.

"Sometimes I seriously wonder why."

-

Morphine was fun thing really, Yugi mused to himself in the impenetrable silence he had found himself in. He knew he was in pain, heck his ears were still bleeding, but he couldn't feel a thing. Instead he felt this pleasant tingle and slight dizziness that made it feel like the room was spinning in a good way. And even though he knew he should be worried about the whole not being able to hear thing, he found himself thinking irrelevant things. Like the fact that morphine was made from opium and named after Greek god. Go science.

He also wondered if anyone knew that morphine had this lovely way of messing up with proteins of the inhibitor drug that was still flowing in his system and keeping him from going completely insane. Well, not insane, but he suspected that when you could hear everything from radio waves to everything normal humans heard, see everything from body warmth to UV-light to everything else, and feel and taste and smell with similar precision… you had to go at least little insane.

He knew that the morphine was already placing its curse on him. He could see the flow of light inside the fluorescent lamps and smell the argon or neon gas or whatever it was. He could smell everyone in the room all the way to last week, everything they had done, everything they had eaten… he could even tell what they were feeling from their perspiration.

Yami had taken his hand, holding it gently in his own. Yugi could tell his pulse through his skin even though he was only touched by the man's fingers - he could almost feel his fingerprints, almost tell which way the friction ridge structures went. Looking up to the man's eyes he could see the smallest reddening of the white of his eyes, see the slightest flicker of his eyelids. He could see Yami's face had lost some of its usual colour. He could feel the man's breathing. It was slightly erratic, forcing the man try to control it but it left the pattern still slightly off. That added to the just slightest skip in the man's heartbeat, so small that you had to be a machine to detect it the man had all the signs of the emotional distress.

With a slight smile, Yugi squeezed the man's hand. He didn't dare to speak - too afraid that without being able to hear what he said it would come out different than he meant it to. What could he say anyway? That he was going to be okay? That they could still make music together? Could they?

No. Nothing short of miracle would give him his hearing back. Yugi closed his eyes for a moment before opening them lazily again. It was amusing really. His whole world was crashing down around him, and he didn't even feel distressed. It wasn't because of the morphine, though, it was because he knew he was in the heart of the storm. Worst was behind him and worst was about to just begin.

Everyone in the world had seen his face and eyes. It would be just matter of when they would come after him.

Seto and Mokuba had entered the room. The three of them were talking, but Yugi couldn't of course tell what they were saying. He was beyond caring as well, he knew talking wouldn't do much good at this point so he just laid there watching them. They looked so distressed. Remorseful. Guilty. They shouldn't. There was nothing they could've done.

Closing his eyes again Yugi drifted for a moment, only snapping to attention when he felt a wrinkled, calloused hand take his free one. Opening his eyes he saw his grandfather who had taken seat beside his bed. There was troubled expression on the old man's face - and the confusion that had been in his eyes ever since Yugi had told the secret to him. Yugi smiled in faint attempt to reassure his guardian who squeezed his hand in return.

Yami, Mokuba and Seto left him and Sugoroku alone for a moment, Yami giving a final gentle squeeze before leaving. When they were gone, Sugoroku found a paper and pen, and wrote. "You think they will try and find you now that everyone has seen your face?"

Yugi smiled sadly and took he pen. "They will. I wouldn't be surprised if I would be gone from this hospital by tomorrow."

"Then we need to get you out of here."

"Wouldn't do any good. I told you. These aren't normal people; they have skills and resources by pass every obstacle. This is better way. From here they can get me easily, here no one will stand in their way and because of that no one will get hurt, trying to protect me or something of the sort."

"So you're going to just take this without doing anything?" his grandfather didn't look pleased.

Yugi shook his head and smiled. "It is going to happen, this way or some other. This way is better. This way no one will get hurt."

"No one except you."

"They won't hurt me. I'm billion dollar project; they would be insane to hurt me."

-

When lights had been shut down and the doctors and nurses had gone home, leaving only handful of people to watch the patients over night, Yugi felt draft on his skin, telling him that the door of his room was opened. Opening his eyes he saw tall figure standing by the door. Immediately his eyes, still working over time thanks to Morphine affecting the other drugs in his system, got adjusted to the light and he nearly gasped.

The figure was a man just as he had suspected, dressed into long reddish brown leather coat. He was holding a duffel bag in one hand and hand gun on other, the sleek black weapon glinting at Yugi as hint of light hit it. What made Yugi gasp wasn't the gun, though - seeing Bakura and Seto interact with similar items had made him strangely adjusted to them. No, what shocked him was the man's face, his eyes, his hair. His skin was tanned, his right cheek cut by scar that ran down from his eyes and was crossed over by two smaller cuts. His eyes were amber, just like Bakura's, just like Ryô's… and his hair was white.

Yugi had always wondered about the physical similarities between Ryô and Bakura - white hair, amber eyes weren't exactly _common_. The first time he had seen the two of them he had actually thought they were brothers like Seto and Mokuba were, but according to them they weren't - they had even done a tests to check it before they had gotten married. Both of them were orphans adopted to different parents from same orphanage so they hadn't been absolutely sure even though the orphanage had done the same tests long ago…

Yugi had shrugged it of as coincidence. Now he knew he shouldn't have. Not when there was a _third_ person who fit the mould. Frowning as the scarred man stepped forward, Yugi wondered if it could be possible, if GPzero and GPthree weren't the only GPseries they had made. What if there was GPone and GPtwo? Two series he had never heard of… What if Bakura, Ryô and this man were from those series?

The gun-bearing man handed him a piece of paper. Looking down to it, Yugi read it with a single glance. "You'll come with me and you'll keep quiet or I'll shoot you. Dress up." Then the scarred Bakura and Ryô look-alike threw the duffel-bag to him. It had clothing inside.

Knowing better than to argue, Yugi pulled the IV-line from his inner arm, grimacing slightly as the needle came out. Then he quickly shrugged the hospital pyjamas off and the clothing in the bag on - completely ignoring the fact that he was practically flashing to this guy because this really wasn't the time to be embarrassed. After he had pulled the final items on - shoes and cap that was probably meant to hide his features from the hospital security cameras - Yugi was given a silent order to follow while the man with a gun put the hospital gown into the duffel bag and took the bag with him, leaving no other evidence but unhooked IV-line behind.

---

-.- I am so not smooth. Can you guess what TK stands for now? I know he has originally grey eyes, but... I twist things for the sake of the plot. And hooray for cyber terrorism.

The GPsomething is just stupid invention of mine, don't try and find it from the original series, it's not there. And I'm not going to tell you what it is yet, that would ruin the pathetic plot of this thing. And if you can't tell that there's going to be something between Yugi, Yami and Atemu then I'm doing horrible job hinting things.

Thank you all for reviews, they're the thing that keep me writing even if my inspiration deserts me.


	10. IX Chapter

**IX chapter**

It was the morning after the worst day of Sugoroku Mutô's life. Even compared to the two weeks six years ago when Yugi had been missing or the three horrible days watching the boy fight to get the drugs out of his system the night he had just lived through was the worst. Because this time he _knew_ exactly what kind of horrible things were going on but wasn't able to do anything about - back then he hadn't known what he knew now.

Wiping the counter of the store for the umpteenth time, the old storekeeper sighed. How long would it take for someone to call him and tell him that the boy he had raised partially as his only son and partially as his imaginary grandson was gone? Would the hospital call him first? The police? Or Kaiba Seto? Probably the latter.

Bowing his head for a moment, Sugoroku then turned to look at his "wall of fame". Articles of the Dark Game, pictures of Yugi and Yami from magazines and such… he certainly didn't hide his pride from his customers. Rare people noticed the tiniest article almost hidden beneath the others - article of when Yugi was ten. He had won science award for a computer program he had created. There was a colour picture in it, corner of another clipping just hiding Yugi's eyes.

Sugoroku smiled, remembering how things had been back then. Gods, he had been so proud. Yugi had been bullied, yes, and he had been a bit shy about making friends, but what a _brain_ that boy had had on him! He had been top of every class, could learn languages in a snap… he had been prodigy beyond belief. Actually, very few had believed, even his teachers had thought it had been some kind of hoax…

Two days after the magazine with that article had been published, Yugi had vanished. It had been just a little article and it had caused his grandson to turn into shy stuttering creature who shied from loud noises and bright lights, who hadn't dared to trust and who had never showed his face anyone. Yugi hadn't smiled for year, and still today you could see how jumpy he was…

If such a little article had been enough to alert them back then, what would world fame and a live-scandal do? Yugi was right. There was no way he would still be in the hospital. And even though Sugoroku knew that there was nothing he could've done to protect his boy - no place to hide from those people - he still felt guilty. And worried beyond belief. Would he ever see Yugi again?

The telephone rang. Sugoroku was almost tempted to leave it ringing, but knew better. It was Seto and the news was as Sugoroku had foreseen. While Seto explained with just a little shaky voice that Yugi was gone, Sugoroku could hear Yami's yelling from the back ground and lot of arguing. Yugi hadn't told anything to them, so they were rightfully confused and shocked.

"I know," Sugoroku finally said when Seto had stopped speaking. "Yugi knew it would happen, he told me as much yesterday."

"_What_?!" the producer's voice was laced with disbelief and shock. "Yugi _knew_ that he wouldn't be here in the morning? Are you telling me that he has _run_ away?" the noises from the background quieted down.

"No, I'm telling you he knew he would be _kidnapped_," Sugoroku sighed. "Maybe you lot should come here. I need to tell you what Yugi couldn't."

"…fine. We'll be there in fifteen minutes." With that said, Seto hung up.

Sugoroku rubbed his eyes, setting the phone down as well. It was going to be one long day, he could tell.

Then the group of two producers, two managers and one singer finally came, you could easily tell how distressed they were. Seto had his hands in fists so tight his knuckles where white, Mokuba was glancing around as if looking for a miracle solution, Yami was glaring as everyone, Bakura was glaring as everyone in way that made people think he was about to pull a gun and shoot them all, and Ryô looked just confused and miserable.

"Now what is this about Yugi knowing he would be kidnapped?" Seto glared at Sugoroku. Everyone else looked at the old man for explanation as well. "I didn't even inform the police because I hoped there was something you knew. Now tell us."

"Flip the sign around, we might not want any shoppers come in right now," Sugoroku said to Mokuba, motioning the Open/Closed sign on the door. The fourteen-year-old producer did as asked. Sugoroku then motioned them to follow him, and led the group first into the storage room and then to the upstairs living room.

"Yugi is not my grandson," the old shop-keeper started to speak when they were finally sitting in the living room and every eye was on him. "I never had any children. He's not exactly adopted either…"

"I found him on the doorsteps of my shop fourteen or so years ago, in arms of a dying scientist who had been shot into the back four times as I recall," Sugoroku continued, ignoring the shocked looks he was getting. "In her last breath the woman asked me to keep the boy safe and possibly hidden, and when a dying person makes wishes it's kind of hard to say no, so I promised. When the police and ambulance I had called came for her, I said that the boy was my grandson and that I was looking after him while his parents were out of country. They didn't bother to check, just took the woman away. I think she died on the way to hospital," he smiled sadly. "She didn't even tell me her name or anything about the boy I had just taken to my care."

"I didn't think much of it back then, but it happened in the very same night Kaiba Corporation's Medical Factory as burned down," Sugoroku continued.

"Wait - what? Kaiba Corp, Medical Factory?" Yami asked with confusion, Bakura and Ryô looked confused as well.

"Kaiba Corp was a company our father created," Seto explained with a slight frown. "Medicine Company or something of the sort. It was completely destroyed in the fire fourteen years ago, when their primary factory was burned down with most of the people running the company still inside it. Our father and mother died in that fire too, just few months after Mokuba was born."

"I can't say I'm sorry to hear that," Sugoroku muttered and ignored the confused looks he got. He shook his head. "In any case, I gave the boy name Yugi and raised him as if he was my grandson. Yugi didn't know he wasn't, and life was relatively good for us. He was incredibly bright boy; in the school they called him a prodigy… top of his every class. That was before he started to stutter and hide his features though, time before that… incident."

"When he was ten, Yugi created a computer program for some competition between schools of Domino. He won the first price and there was a small article of him featured in some science magazine…" Sugoroku sighed. "Two days after the magazine was published along with a colour picture of him, Yugi vanished and was gone for two weeks."

Everyone seemed to be on the edges of their seats now even if slightly confused as Sugoroku continued. "When he was found from under a walking bridge he wore half burned clothing, had bruises from various restrains, and he was very incoherent because of the drugs that were in his system. Eight of them, I think, four of them completely unknown."

"Oh my god," Ryô murmured.

"Physically he was other wise fine, not harmed at all. He spend three days in hospital to clear the drugs from his systems - some of them lingered though and the doctors couldn't remove them at all, I think they're still there, in his bloodstream," Sugoroku leaned back. "When the police questioned him, Yugi told them over and over that he couldn't remember anything. Everyone could tell he was lying, but he still stuck to it until they had to give up. After that incident, Yugi has been as you know him. Shy to kingdom come, always hiding his hair and face, and stuttering. Ever since then his hearing has been incredibly accurate too, I had to get soundproof walls, windows and door to his room just so that he could sleep at night."

"He never told what happened? Not even to you?" Mokuba asked worryingly.

"Oh, he told me. Three weeks ago when you started to plan putting him into the television," the shopkeeper smiled grimly. "Just in case something would go wrong, and something like this would happen again. So that someone knew."

"Well? Aren't you going to tell us what happened?" Bakura asked in irritated tone.

"I'm not sure if you're going to believe it," Sugoroku sighed. "The one who kidnapped Yugi six years ago was a surviving scientist of the fire of the Medical Factory. He had seen the picture of Yugi in the science magazine, and recognised Yugi for his eyes and hair. He took Yugi when the boy was walking to school in the morning and took him into some make-shift laboratory. There he proceeded to strap Yugi into a bed and… experiment on him."

"Experiment on…" Yami looked ill.

"Using drugs and such the scientist was apparently trying to unlock Yugi's _hidden abilities_ that were held back by some inhibitor drug or something of the sort," the shopkeeper shook his head. "While using these drugs on my grandson, the scientist told him stories about what really had been going on in the Kaiba Corp.'s Medical Factory, the human experiments and such…"

"He told Yugi about the Genius Project, GP. Originally, some ten years before Yugi was _born_, group of scientists known as the Big Five came up with an idea of harnessing human geniuses, creating them… creating perfect human beings. Using genes collected from various geniuses and such, they begun to create first engineered human being. The first project was named GPzero, who were experimental geniuses. According to Yugi they were marked with two colour hair, red eyes, and mark in their necks," Sugoroku motioned the middle of his neck. "Some kind of eye symbol he said, birthmark." He didn't miss the shocked look on the singer's face or how he raised his hand to touch the thick collar that hid most of the man's neck.

"So Yugi is one of these GPzeros?" Bakura asked with a frown.

"No. Yugi is later project, the last one I guess. He is GPthree. And according to the scientist who kidnapped him, Yugi is as close as human can get to a computer."

"_What_?"

-

Laboratory again. Well at least this one is clean, Yugi mused to himself while trying not to grimace at the way the scientist at his right was studying his ear with some kind of scope. Trying to see if they could fix his hearing, he supposed while tugging his hands just slightly against the restraints holding him still in the chair. They wouldn't give in under his measly strength.

Looking around n the laboratory, Yugi wondered if it was made solely for him or had there been other people strapped into this same chair while these scientists studied them. Computers, medical machines, drugs… Yugi started slightly as another scientist at his other side stuck a needle to his arm and started to take some of his blood. Trying to ignore it he glanced to the mirror that was one of the walls and wondered who was there behind that mirror, who was watching him through it… who was doing this to him.

Not that it mattered. This place was different from the last place. This was no basement laboratory with little security, and these straps didn't allow him the freedom to move his feet that had been his key to escape last time. This time he wouldn't be able to run.

As the scientist pulled the scope out of his ear, Yugi leaned his head back and closed his eyes… just before his eyelid was forced open so that the scientist could examine his eye too. With sigh Yugi allowed it even though he had an itch to cross his eyes just out of spite.

Both of the scientists pulled away from him as a door to the laboratory was opened and man walked in. Yugi frowned at him, immediately knowing that this man was the boss around here. For one his mannerism belonged to a man who got everything he wanted by snap of his fingers and two, he was dressed like rich man. And he had that smile as he looked at Yugi. The smile of a victor, of an owner.

The man was followed by another who was dressed into a black suit but didn't look quite like body guard. The boss-like man spoke something and the black suited man made had motions - sign language. "Unless the records are incorrect, you should be able to understand this."

"I can," Yugi spoke for the first time after losing his hearing. It was so strange to speak without hearing what he said, but he forced the shudder down. This wasn't the time for it.

"Good. I am Maximillion Pegasus. I am the president of Industrial Illusions and the inheritor of Big Five's dream." The boss-person spoke and the other man signed. "And I guess you know what you are, don't you, GPthree. And why you are here."

"My name is Mutô Yugi," Yugi glared at the man, knowing that the words came out with a stutter even though he couldn't hear it but uncaring.

"Don't be silly. You're human made thing, you don't deserve a name," Pegasus smiled patronisingly. "For your information we'll be seeing what we can do about your hearing and that little… stutter problem. So just sit tight, GPthree, and let us take care of you."

"And what will you do to me after that?" Yugi asked.

"Well, I guess we'll be removing the last remains of the inhibitor so that you will gain access to all your hidden abilities, try to fix the damage that rogue scientist caused six years ago, and then… then we'll study you until we know if you are worth as much as they put in you," Pegasus smiled. "Any more questions, GPthree?"

Yugi frowned, glaring at the man "Who was the man who brought me here?" that had been bothering him since the scarred man had delivered him into this building - after which the man had been shot with a stun gun and carried away by some security guards. "And what did you do to him?"

"Oh, that one? He's known as the Thief King - or TK. He is kind of like you, but nothing like you. He is part of the GPtwo series. They were supposed to be soldiers and such, given a bit of an aggression and mentality issues so that they would be good at killing," Pegasus smiled. "As far as I know he was six around the time the factory was burned, and somehow managed to escape, has lived in streets as a thief and criminal ever since. Sadly he knows too much so he has gained himself a permanent stay at the lower dungeons of this castle."

"GPtwo… so there were other series," Yugi murmured. "Beside GPzero and three."

"Of course. You've met people of all other series. Seto Kaiba and Mokuba are both of the GPone series, Kul'elna Bakura and Ryô are of the GPtwo along with TK," Pegasus smirked. "And of course Namonaki Yami is one of the final products of the original series, he is GPzero."

"Then why haven't you kidnapped them?"

"Because they have no use to me. This is after all the time of computers," the silver hared man smiled final time, and left, leaving Yugi again alone with the scientists.

-

"When you think about it, it makes sense," Sugoroku said quietly. "What Yugi sees, hears, experiences… he never forgets. The sharpness of his hearing is sometimes so fine tuned that he can hear radio waves. He can do things instantly, like music, and it works perfectly. The speed of his hands had to develop so that it could keep up with the speed of his mind… Information processing."

"His other senses would be as sharp, but there is an old protein in his system that was placed there when he was nothing but a baby. Inhibitor protein which keeps his senses in normal level," Sugoroku continued. "The scientist who kidnapped him six years ago messed with that protein, which resulted Yugi's increased hearing. It also caused Yugi's stutter probably. Some kind of interference between his speech and brain…"

"None of this well help us to find him, will it?" Yami asked worryingly. Sugoroku just shrugged helplessly.

Just then Seto pulled out his cell phone and rang someone.

"Who're you calling to?" Mokuba asked his elder brother with confusion.

"One insane person with too much sources and recourses," Seto smirked and then concentrated onto the phone. "Hey, Marik, it's me. I need you to do something for me, and I promise I'll pay you well. I need to get a hold of the old Kaiba Corp. records," he spoke. "Everything you can find. There has apparently been going on more than I knew and I want to know everything. Can you do it? You want me to do _what_ in return? Well, I'll see what I can do, but you should know that the person you're asking for is at the moment kidnapped, which is actually the reason I'm calling you. Yugi, he was taken from the hospital in the night. Yes, that's fine. Thanks."

"Malik?" Yami asked in disbelief. "Malik as in Ishtal Malik?"

"No, Ishtal _Marik_," Seto said while hanging the phone. "The unknown twin of Malik. One of the greatest crime lords of this fair planet."

"You asked help from a _crime lord_?! Why?" Ryô asked with disbelief.

"Because it's the fastest way to find out information," Seto shrugged, and looked at Bakura. "He wants Yugi and Yami to perform the Tomb as payment, though."

"If he can help us to find the squirt then I'm fine with that," Bakura nodded.

-

TK hit the stone wall angrily, ignoring the sting of pain or the bloody knuckles he now had. Pegasus betraying someone wasn't something to be surprised about, but not him. No one betrayed him. And usually Pegasus kept his word and paid the price - thus keeping himself trustworthy in the eye of the crime empire and avoiding giving them reasons to kill him.

What made this time different? Pegasus _knew_ that he and Marik were good friends, why would he risk angering Marik by imprisoning him? Was that boy, that deaf little musician that important to the man? Well, if Pegasus thought that Marik would leave TK here to rot he was dead wrong. And when Marik would find him, TK would take great pleasure killing the annoying president of Industrial Illusions.

---

Marik the crime lord... sorry, no Marik/Malik luv in this one, I don't write incest. And dundunduuun! Teh secret of GPstuff revealed. Atleast some of it... and I'm so sorry, **yugixyamiyaoilover**, if my pace doesn't please you. Doesn't mean I'm going to change the pace, though.

Thank you all for your reviews.


	11. X Chapter

**X chapter**

Sometimes Atemu really didn't like the way Mahado's mind worked. Or Seth's for that matter. They had this thing of throwing Atemu into work when ever he showed signs of any kind of emotional activity. Now for example. You'd had to be blind not to see how distressed he was about Mutô Yugi collapsing in live television program, and what was their remedy for his raging emotions? Photo shoot.

Atemu nearly sighed while automatically following the orders of the photographer. He didn't want to be working, he wanted to be sitting on his divan either depressed or planning on what to write to Yugi. What Yami had said before they had played still rang in his mind - Yugi was calling him out, trying to get touch with him so that they could work together. It still made him feel all giddy and squirmy inside even as he was worried out of his mind. He just like the rest of the world was waiting for Kaiba Seto to call in and tell that Yugi was okay.

"That's beautiful, just beautiful," the photographer mumbled, not even noticing that Atemu was hardly paying any attention to him. Somewhere in the back ground Mahado was shaking his head and grimacing, knowing that his work-remedy wasn't working this time. Even the remixed _Puzzle_ playing in the background wasn't doing much to help Atemu's mood.

For the millionth time Atemu wondered what on earth had happened. What had caused Yugi's ears bleed like that, what had caused that kind of pain? Even though Atemu was kind of happy for seeing Yugi's face and eyes - and gods the musician was beautiful - that hadn't been the way he had wished for it to happen. Why such pain, why the blood? He really wanted to know.

Cell phone's ringing intruded his musings, polygonal version of the _Puzzle_ driving it way into his mind like a drill. The photo shoot halted automatically and Atemu left the set as Mahado handed his cell phone to him. Atemu frowned at the number flashing in the screen before answering. "I thought I told you not to call," was his annoyed way of greeting to this one man. He could see Mahado's face fault, the manager probably though that it was one of his ex-lovers again. They had the tendency of calling after him more that enough.

"Now, now, Atemu dearest, you know you still love me," mocking voice answered through the phone. "And you know more than well enough that I wouldn't be calling you if I didn't have a damn good reason, so do me a favour and listen before you hang up."

"You have a minute, and I'll hang up," Atemu said. "So keep it short.

"Okay, short. One, Kaiba Seto is asking about Kaiba Corp. Two, Mutô Yugi has been kidnapped from hospital and it apparently has something to do with Kaiba Corp. Three, I can't find TK anywhere. That about sums it up," Marik sounded annoyed. "I'm calling you because your prestigious family had dealings with the Kaiba Corp. in the past if I remember correctly, and your lovely cousin is almost as good hacker as TK is. And you're nearly as good thief as TK is."

"Seth doesn't do that anymore," Atemu frowned, his mind going mile a minute. Kaiba Corp, Yugi… what would they have to do with each other? And Yugi was kidnapped? "Neither do I."

"These are skills you never forget, honey," the crime lord mocked. "And I'm sure that you in your glamorous and utterly boring life of supermodel miss the excitement of the criminal world. Now, are you going to get your stunning ass up and help me?"

Atemu frowned for a moment. Going back to that didn't sound that interesting, but Yugi… Yugi did. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

"Seth to find about Kaiba Corp, and who would take Mutô. I have a feeling that where Mutô is we'll find TK - he got assignment yesterday from some big shot and that's just too much of a coincidence for me. Once we know who took them and where they are, you will lead team of people to get them out. Kaiba Seto is calling the shots and I have a feeling he's going to pay well too," the caller yawned. "That sound good to you?"

"Here and there. I'll call you back," Atemu said and hung up before the other man could say anything in return. Quickly dialling Seth's number, he took the phone back to his ear. Mahado was now looking at him worriedly, so were the photographer and the assistants and other people in the photo studio. "I want you to drop what ever you're doing. I have a job for you."

"Oh no, I know that tone of voice," Seth groaned. "I haven't heard it in years, but I know it. You want me to hack something, don't you? Who was it that brought this on? TK? Marik?"

"The latter." Ignoring the cries of the photographer, assistants, stylists and his own manager, Atemu started to undress the various jewellery he had on while heading towards the door. "TK seems to be missing, and Marik got a job from _Kaiba Seto_ himself. And about Kaiba Corp. of all things."

"Kaiba Corporation? You mean I have to try and find about the Kaiba Corporation? That's easier said than dome most of the information about that particular organisation burned along with the factory, what little I know came my father and yours," the other model sounded interested though. "Why would Kaiba Seto suddenly be so interested about his father's old company?"

"Apparently Mutô Yugi has been kidnapped and it has something to do with the corporation," Atemu was now walking towards his room.

"Mutô Yugi, mean _the_ Mutô Yugi? No wonder Marik got you moving, though how did he know about your little fandom?"

"He didn't, he was just lucky," the model ran his hand through his hair before noticing that there were still heavy golden rings on his fingers. Absently he undressed them and left them to a table he passed by. "You will do it, right, Seth?" Atemu's voice was almost unsure.

"Just because I know how much Mutô means to you, I'll do it," Seth sighed amusedly. "I don't have the equipment, though, I haven't hacked anything in years."

"I'll call Marik, I'm sure he'll have something. And if he hasn't, maybe you can use TK's equipment. I'll call you back soon," Atemu hung up and dialled Marik's number while entering his room. "We'll do it, but Seth needs the right equipment."

"Don't you have all the info you need about Kaiba Corp?" Marik sounded confused. "Your father was Gozaburo's business partner, Seth's dad worked for the man… I thought you would know all about the hidden business of the company."

"Our fathers died in the fire just like everyone else, taking most of the information with them. All hidden business, as you put it, was buried in ashes," Atemu glared at the phone wishing that Marik would be present so that he could glare at him. "So it won't be that easy finding that information. If it still exists in the first place"

"Very well. Come here and I'll supply you two with everything you need," the crime lord said before chuckling. "Heck, this will be like old times. Three of us saving TK's ass… things really haven't been the same singe you two went into that modelling business. I still don't understand why on earth you did that anyway. Temporary insanity probably…"

"Don't get all nostalgic, I'm not doing this for TK," Atemu said while walking to his desk where he had a laptop. Flipping it open he waited for it to start up, before ordering a transport via the internet. "And neither is Seth. We'll see you in the Tomb in… three hours."

"I'll be waiting at the door," Marik sneered and ended the phone call.

Atemu called Seth. "We'll be going to the Tomb. Can you be ready and in front of the mansion in an hour?"

"I'll be there," Seth agreed.

-

Mahado and Mana were both confused out of their minds not to mention worried as Atemu and Seth stood in the front of the mansion, waiting for the helicopter to arrive. Neither of the two managers could get a word though their lips, though. Not with the two of them suddenly dressed into nonchalant street clothing and carrying ruffled duffel bags. Atemu dressed like that they could handle and dup as him being eccentric, but not Seth.

"Don't worry about it," Seth smiled to them while Atemu was doing something with his phone. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Can't you even tell us where you're going or what you're going to be doing?" Mana asked with a frown, eying Atemu confusedly. Compared to the vacant model this man in worn cargo pants and leather jacket seemed like another person. Not just because of the clothing or because of how he had pulled his usually freely flowing hair into ponytail, but because of his expression, because of the fire burning in his eyes. Atemu was concentrated and that happened rarely.

"Family business, very secret," Atemu murmured distractedly and flipped the phone shut.

Mahado frowned. _Family business_ were two words which were usually forbidden in the mansion and in the close proximity of Pharaoh Atemu, they had been for as long as Mahado had known the man. It was no wonder really, when _family business_ was just another term for criminal organisation known as the Royal House that had once been ran by Atemu's father. Atemu, had he not renounced it all, would be one of the greatest crime lords out there, being the sole heir of the Royal House. The possibility of it still lived on, the Royal House was just waiting for Atemu - and Seth - to return to them.

Was that what this was all about? Was Atemu… leaving the modelling business for Royal House? Mahado's frown turned worried.

The crimson eyed model glanced at his direction. "It's not that, Mahado," he said as if reading Mahado's mind. "Just doing a favour to an old friend. We'll be back in few days."

Mahado nodded hesitatingly and looked up as the sound of a helicopter started to echo in the grounds. Soon the artificial gust pushed at them as the great machine landed. As Mahado and Mana stepped back, Seth and Atemu made their way quickly to the helicopter. Soon they were inside and the metal bird took off again.

"Is it really not that, Atemu?" Seth asked after the pilot was done greeting them with all the enthusiasm of a man who got paid hundreds of dollars per hour. "The possibility is there, and… it kind of runs in your veins."

"It may, but it doesn't make me one of them," Atemu said, leaning back in the helicopter seat and glancing out of the window. "Shimon has ran the House for years, he can continue just as well without me."

"Hmm," Seth nodded thoughtfully, looking at his cousin somewhat sadly. If Atemu was satisfied with this life of a supermodel, why did he look livelier now than he had ever had as a model? Just because of Mutô or because of the excitement that would no doubt soon ensue. The hacker shook his head and looked outside as well. He knew his veins were flowing with adrenaline in way they hadn't in years.

The helicopter ride went in relative quiet until they were landing on the field just outside the Tomb's entrance. It was really hard to tell that it was the entrance to the greatest concert hall of the known world, when you looked at the place it looked like nothing but dry desert. Thanking the pilot for his services, Atemu and Seth climbed down and were greeted by a sight of their childhood friend walking towards them. Marik hadn't changed much, though the long cape-like coat was new.

"I would hug the two of you if I was huggy kind of person, but I'm not so I won't," the crime lord sneered at them. "Nice of you to make it."

"You're still full of it, aren't you, Marik?" Atemu asked with a grimace. "Where is your less-insane half?"

"Malik has other businesses to attend to. I try to keep him apart from all this shady stuff these days, for his and Ishizu's sake" the tanned platinum blonde shrugged. "So, you two in the need of something of shall we head to TK's hole now?" he motioned towards black SUV waiting for them in the parking lot. "Because I'm itching to know what is going on here"

Seth nodded to Atemu who nodded as well. "We're good to go," the crimson eyed model said and the three of them headed for the car.

"So, how is the glamorous life treating you?" Marik asked while taking the wheel. "You know, beside glamorously. I hear that Atemu has still no luck in love."

"Shut up," Atemu growled. "It's really none of your business."

"You're all heart, honey," the crime lord snorted. "So warm and affectionate, you can really hear the love from such tone of voice." He glanced at Seth while turning the car around and speeding away from the Tomb. "When did Atemu become a heartless bastard?"

"When you called him," Seth smirked crookedly.

"Ah, well. Can't be helped then, even greater men have been affected by otherworldly charm," Marik looked almost cheerful, chattering away while they were making their way towards the town. Not much after they were speeding the back alleys until they came to one storage building, here Marik turned the engine off. "TK's place," he informed and climbed out of the SUV.

"Well, his preferred neighbourhood style definitely hasn't changed," Atemu smirked slightly while they made their way in. The rundown outlook was however only outlook. From the inside the place was quite high-tech. Marik led them through the master thief's complicated security system easily, happily telling them that if the security system didn't know him, the air vents would suck out all oxygen and replace it with gas.

"I guess TK still knows how to hide his stuff well," Seth murmured while throwing his duffel bag onto his shoulder. "Well then, where are the computers?" Marik motioned forward and let them into room completely filled by computers. Seth looked pleased. "This is more like it."

Atemu couldn't help but smile a little. Even after years of being out of the _game_ this was still Seth's arena. Even if the equipment was TK's, fine-tuned just for the master thief, they yielded to Seth just as well. The brown haired model hacked past TK's passwords easily and then he had the whole internet on its knees before him. "I have to hand it to TK, he has some great computers here."

"Mostly thanks to me," Marik didn't even both pretending modest. "TK is the best hacker I've known - well, since you left the game anyway - so I try to keep him pleased. I get him everything he wants from computers to security systems and the like and he pays back by getting everything I want from behind closed doors, lock and key. It works well for both of us."

"Crime lord and king of thieves," Atemu shook his head. "Match made in hell."

"If you hadn't run of to be a model, honey, you would be the crime lord - the emperor of the kingdom of criminals - and I could happily go back being lower level lackey," Marik shook his head. He glanced at Atemu. "Why did you leave anyway?" he asked, his voice lacking the mock of before. He glanced at Seth. "Why did the two of you just back up and leave? You were the greatest thing ever happened to the underworld! Everyone _still_ knows it, you know it. It's not that you two aren't delight to watch presenting your gorgeous selves in various front pages but…"

"It just stopped being what we wanted," Seth said from the computer where he was rapidly writing. "Stopped giving us what we needed."

"And modelling business has given you what you want then?" Marik asked disbelievingly. Atemu couldn't answer and Seth didn't say anything either. "Didn't think so," the crime lord shook his head. He sighed and looked at Seth. "Can you give us a time frame?"

"Thirty minutes to find out if there is anything to be found out, after that it's either dead end or anything from ten minutes to hours depending on what I'll be going up against," Seth made a dismissing motion with his hand. "Give me time - wait…"

"What?" Marik frowned.

"TK's last hacks. Mutô's health, police, even school records, he even went after birth records," Seth glanced at the others over his shoulder. "I guess TK was the one who kidnapped Mutô."

"I suddenly hate TK very much," Atemu murmured, making Seth snort.

"What?" Marik looked surprised.

"Atemu, he has a fangirl crush on Mutô," Seth turned back to the computer. "Don't hate TK just yet, cousin. He was obviously paid to do the job and as TK hasn't been since then one can tell that his employer turned on him," he shook his head, his long fingers. "Which itself is incredibly stupid thing to do concerning the company TK keeps…"

"Indeed, I'm planning to do something horrible to the person who thinks messing with my friend is good idea. If TK is still alive the person will live for day after I've found them. If he isn't, they'll live for two weeks," Marik sounded thoughtful. "Three weeks if they're tough enough to handle my devises."

"You still torture people?" Atemu asked from the crime lord with dislike.

"Everyone needs a hobby and I need to keep up a certain reputation. If I _didn't_ the people who work for me would think that I've gone soft. Then they would try overthrowing me from the rotting throne of all that is wrong in this world, and you would have to take the rusty crown of crime," the platinum blonde smirked at the supermodel. "So, for you and your glamorous life of flashing lights and jewellery me torturing people is a good thing."

"Why are you saying _glamorous_ so often?" Atemu frowned.

"I heard someone us it. I think it's a pretty word."

"Riight…"

They waited as Seto worked on the computer until the brown haired model leaned back. "I found something about the hidden project of the Kaiba Corp.," he glanced at them over his shoulder. "Genius Project, and it doesn't look pretty."

Atemu and Marik leaned forward. "Not pretty as in kidnapping people or something of the sort?" Marik asked.

"Not pretty as in crimes against humanity," Seth looked sick. "They were _creating_ people, trying to create perfect humans, geniuses… Atemu, you better come here and read this, our fathers were involved in it too."

While Atemu walked to his cousin and took seat beside him to read the files Seth had found, Marik looked worried. "Whilst crimes against humanity sounds interesting, did you find out where TK and the Mutô kid are?"

"Not, but I think I know anyway," Seth glanced at the crime lord. "I found this data from the database of the Industrial Illusions."

"Pegasus? Alright, I've been wanting to kill that guy," Marik smirked. "I guess we will be heading to Pegasus's island then, huh?"

"Not yet, I need to read this," Atemu said with a frown. "There's a file here about _me_. GPbase, what the…?"

"Were going to be relaying this information to Kaiba Seto, right?" Seth looked up to Marik.

"Well, he's calling the shots," Marik shrugged. "He is one cold hearted bastard when he gets the mood, I really don't want to get to his bad side. And he gets very easily trigger happy."

"I think this is something we should do in person," Seth frowned at the computer screen. "Can you call the man here?"

---

Now I'm starting to like Atemu, really like him. And before you ask, there hasn't been anything between Atem and Marik, Marik's just being an ass. And yes, there will be **yaoi, **I'm even planning the future **sex ****scenes**. Yes, there will be sex scenes. I like writing sex. I need to find a website where I can post the over-the-rating chapters, though. I have the tendancy of getting... explicit with that stuff (And the comment about the pace seemed to be more about the pace of the relationships... ten chapters and no sparks between Yugi and Yami...)

w00t, over hundred reviews and tenth chapter, lets party with tea and chocolate and get sugar high... yeah, not. Thank you all for your reviews.


	12. XI chapter

**XI chapter**

Yugi bit his teeth hard together, pulling his hands helplessly. Whatever Pegasus had infested his blood flow with did not feel good. Okay, it felt like he had lava bees inside his blood veins along with some acid, but who was asking? Yugi knew what the drug's function was and why it felt like this - it was purifying his system of the inhibitor protein by attaching the protein directly and destroying it inside him. That kind of thing couldn't be exactly painless. It didn't mean he liked it.

And the most annoying thing about the whole thing was that he couldn't trash around in pain. Not with the straps holding his head and torso in place so tightly that he couldn't move it even a fraction of a millimetre. Though it was a good thing, because at the moment his ears were cut open and he had doctor/scientists at each side working with them. If he could trash around the instruments stuck in his ears would rip his head open.

Yugi swallowed, closing his eyes so that he could cut the view of Pegasus's smug smirk out. He hated the fact that he understood the whole thing. He understood why these two tortures were done in the same time. The whatever drug purifying him had the effect of making his system work on overdrive which resulted as higher metabolism which lead into higher cellular formation which translated into higher healing rate which gave the doctor/scientist's better shot at fixing his multi-layer inner ear structure.

Grimacing Yugi pulled his hands again. He could tell Pegasus was speaking - he could smell the man's breath clearer than before. When people opened their mouth people could smell their saliva and everything in their mouth that caused breath odour. Pegasus's was mix of wine, weird expensive cheese and breath mints. The scent came in huffs, meaning that the man was weighting down some words. The man was mocking him - you didn't weight words if you were giving orders, or if you were explaining things. Pegasus was mocking a deaf person. Sick bastard.

They were inserting the bones into his ears now, he could feel it. They had probably been created in a laboratory from his DNA, well they had to be, that was the only way for them to create them. He was the only living creature out there with ears like his and his ears worked only with the specific mould of bones, layers of ear drums and such which enabled humans to hear that could only be found from _his_ ears. So, they _couldn't_ be putting just any bones into his ears, they had to be _his_ bones and because his original bones were shattered thanks to fifty or so people clapping to his honour they had to be his _artificially created_ bones.

Gods he hated begin on drugs. On any other time he could pretend that he had a normal brain inside a relatively normal head, in any other time he could repress the strings of thoughts that led into another string and another until he was just thinking and thinking… Yugi didn't like to think, he wanted to be the average kid in the back of the classroom, in the empty music room, in the soundproof room on the second floor of the music shop. He wanted to be ignorant, innocent, untouched by the madness that was the Genius Project.

That _breath_ again! Yugi's eyes flashed open and he glared at the silver haired man. It was only the drugs talking; purifying-whatever-drug clashing with the inhibitor caused adrenaline and hormonal burst causing all kinds of nice emotions like uncontrolled rage. He had never wanted to harm anyone before, but now he wanted to rip Pegasus's eyes out and eat them. No, scratch that, he wanted eat one of Pegasus eyes, leave the other to its eye socket so that Pegasus could watch him eat rest of the man's vital parts - like heart…

And with the drugs clashing in his system, he had no inhabitations, so while the doctor/scientists were working on his ears Yugi was telling Pegasus all the kind of fun things he wanted to do the man's insides. At least he wiped the smug smirk out of the man's face.

"You know that with the inhibitor gone I'll be physically and mentally a whole another person," Yugi snarled at the man. "Human computer or not, I am a _GPthree_. I'm the result of ten years of human experiments; I'm as close to _perfect_ as they could come. These restrains won't be able to hold me no matter what you do."

"Yes they will," Yugi could read from the man's lips.

"No they won't. When I get free of them you will rely on your little safety procedures. You will use the little chip your scientist just inserted to the base of my scull to shock me, to render me unconscious and thus helpless. It won't work because my cellular structure is too thick, because I'm engineered to handle all kinds of torture, electric shocks included. Look at me now, you're burning me inside out and I'm not making a sound about it," Yugi glared at the man. "Next thing you rely on after the chip fails is the security of this room. Locked doors, indestructible one-way-mirror and everything else that makes this room seem inescapable to you. But I'll still get out; I already have my escape plan worked out. When I get out of this room you will rely on the motion detectors, cameras, laser thingies and everything else that is meant to monitor all movement in this place. I can promise you they won't even see me, you won't see me. And when you send your guards to find me with orders to shoot if they must, I won't care. You can't kill me because I'm too expensive and with the drugs still so fresh in my system my healing works over time. And any un-lethal wound will close itself within minutes, heal within hours. I'll just dig the bullets out with my bare fingers and heal."

"Now," Yugi smirked at the slightly green looking man. "Do you have other plans to hold me here?"

"How about chains?" Pegasus narrowed his eyes.

"Only as strong as their weakest link," Yugi smirked.

"Sedative."

"Won't work with this much drugs in me."

"I'll place guard in the room," the man was glaring back at him now.

"Lucky them, they'll see heaven lot quicker than you will," Yugi smirked and closed his eyes. "Just wait and see." The he watched with satisfaction how the man walked out of the room, gust of air telling how hard he banged the door shut. Yugi sighed and closed eyes. "I hate being on drugs," he murmured.

-

"Wow," TK murmured, his ear nearly pressed against the air vent. Apparently he was nearly directly below Pegasus's lap because he could hear everything they were doing there. "The kid has spunk, that's for sure," he murmured, somewhat impressed. He wasn't sure of which, the whole eating intestines stuff or about the escape plans, but he was impressed. Could the kid actually follow through his threats? Damn this Mutô kid was getting more and more interesting by the minute.

-

"You mean to say that two of the most famous _models_ on this earth are also two of the most famous _criminals_ on this earth?" Bakura asked with shock while Marik was driving him, Seto and Yami towards… wherever he was taking them from the spot where Seto had landed his helicopter. Mokuba, Ryô and Sugoroku had all been left back at Domino because they just weren't cut for this kind of thing. "Pharaoh Atemu is the _heir of Royal House_ and Priest Seth is the world famous hacker _High Priest_?"

"If it's hard for you to believe that two of them are criminals, think of what I'm going through," Marik sneered. "I still can't believe they are models. They are and will probably always be the bet of the business no matter how retired they are. TK gives them run for their money, but in the end they're the best there is."

"And they've found about Yugi's past and where he is now?" Yami asked with a frown.

"We found lot about his past alright," the crime lord frowned. " Lot about all your pasts. Kaiba Corp had lot of dirt hidden underneath their carpets. That's why you're here, actually, Seth felt that it was prudent to talk with you face to face about this shit."

"About our pasts?" Seto looked worried. "What about our pasts?"

"Now that would be telling, wouldn't it?" Marik smirked. "We'll be there in few minutes, the computer wiz can tell all about it himself. Seth has read all the files so he knows more about it than I do anyway."

Not much after Marik slowed down before parking the car near run-down storage building. Somewhat confused about where they were. Seto, Bakura and Yami followed Marik into the storage and though surprisingly complicated security system.

"Whoever lives here is more paranoid than you are," Yami murmured to Seto.

"Such is the life of the modern King of Thieves," Marik cackled before leading them into a relatively large room filled by computers. There were two men in the room, and neither looked exactly supermodel-like in their street clothing while sitting near four different computers.

"Honey, I'm home," Marik called out joyously, making one of the men look up. Yami couldn't hep but swallow. Sure, he had seen Pharaoh Atemu in papers plenty of times, he had even seen the man on a video, but… damn, how could anyone look like that? Men were not supposed to look that gorgeous. And… Atemu looked more like him than Yugi, who looked enough like him to be his brother, did.

"And you still didn't bring your brain along," the supermodel snorted before taking in Yami, Bakura and Seto. His eyes narrowed a bit before he nudged at the other man's side, causing the brown-haired man turn to look away from the computer screen. Yami had seen Priest Seth in the papers too, but… how could've he missed just how much he and Seto looked alike? Seto didn't seem to miss that fact either, not if the way is eyes were raking over Seth's form was any indication.

"All we are missing is TK and we would have nice little freaky experiment union going on here," Marik cackled. "But given that TK is not here, how about we cut to the chase and you two bring our lovely guests up to date, hm? So that we can move on to the 'finding, breaking in and rescuing' part. And I'm not even going to bother with introductions because if everyone here doesn't know everyone here, I'll shoot something just for the heck of it."

"Right," Seth frowned, throwing one glance at Seto before turning back to the computer. "Down to business then. I found out about the Kaiba Corp.'s hidden business from the data base of one Industrial Illusions corporation," he said. "Something called Genius Project. You familiar with it?"

"We know something about GPzeros and GPthree," Seto frowned while walking forward. "Yugi knew and told his grandfather who in turn told us."

"Then this will be whole lot more easier for me," Seth said while Atemu leaned back, eying Yami strangely. "The Genius Project was funded by Kaiba Gozaburo and Pharaoh Akunumkanon and it begun little less than twenty five years ago. First few years the scientists spend collecting various DNA samples from all the geniuses of every possible field, until they had a large variety of what they called the Ggene - Genius gene."

"Akunumkanon, isn't that…?" Seto glanced at Atemu while he, Yami and Bakura took seats on the room - Bakura and Yami sitting on tables while Seto pulled a chair from underneath one of the many tables.

The model nodded. "My father and the former head of Royal Family, yes," he answered easily.

"Almost exactly twenty-two years ago the genes were used to create the very first artificial human. The prototype had all the possible Ggenes they had and was called the GPbase," Seth motioned at Atemu. "GPbase's abilities and capabilities were never really tested because soon after his supposed birth he was adopted by Akunumkanon and given the name Atemu."

"You're one of them? And the prototype?" Bakura asked with surprise while Seto and Yami glanced at each other, now getting kind of worried. Atemu just shrugged, not looking all that worried about it.

"GPbase lead into series of artificial humans, this series was known as the GPzero. Then, very soon after, another series was started, GPone. Whilst the GPzero series was series of experimental geniuses of all fields, the GPone series concentrated on intelligence levels. The prototype of the GPone series was adopted by one of the senior scientists of the project, Priest Akunadin who wanted to study and see how humane the GPones are. This makes me the GPone prototype," Seth continued, talking about it as if he was talking about weather. "And not much after one of the GPones was adopted also by Kaiba Gozaburo who wanted a worthy heir."

"Oh my god," Seto murmured covering his eyes with his hand. "What about Mokuba?"

"Later version of the GPone series," Seth sounded almost apologetic before continuing on. "The next project, GPtwo were supposed to be soldiers. Hint of intelligence mixed with physical abilities and slight mental issues were their ingredients. They were supposed to be good killers. We can't be sure but we think TK is the earliest of the GPtwo series," he glanced over his shoulder at Yami and Bakura. "One of the GPzero's was taken into random orphanage at very young age about nineteen years ago; he was supposed to be monitored from afar to see how well the one would adjust to normal society. And according to these files, two of the GPtwo series managed to escape from the fire that killed everyone else.

"We're all these GPthingies?" Bakura asked, looking shocked. Then he frowned slightly, remembering what he had been told about the Medical Factory's fire. It had happened fourteen years ago… just around the time when he and Ryô had been found from the streets. He could remember some fire, but it was hazy - he had been only five years old at the time. "Well… shit."

"My thoughts exactly," Seto looked up. "And Yugi?"

"The prototype of the GPthree series," Seth shrugged. "Upgraded version of the GPzero series, yet nothing alike. GPthree's were supposed be capable of inhuman achievements and they were supposed to posses incredible senses they were supposed to be the next step toward achieving humane perfection or something of the sort."

"Well, we knew that already," Seto murmured and glanced at the others. He didn't have the time to wonder about being engineered human, he had a musician to find "Anything on where Yugi might be held?"

"Pegasus' island," Seth said with a nod. "They've just updated their files on him… they're fixing his hearing, I think."

"Hey, maybe we should wait until they're done with that?" Bakura asked.

"Maybe not," Yami and surprisingly enough Atemu growled in unison, glancing at each other with surprise.

"No need to get all predatorily, I just mean that… the doctors said that the couldn't make heads or tails of Yugi's ears, right?" Bakura asked from Seto. "We can't fix Yugi no matter how we tried, if these people can then…"

"I want Yugi to hear even more than you do, Bakura, but it doesn't mean that I will just allow him to be subjected to some insane scientists," Seto frowned. "You heard what Sugoroku said, last time this happened left Yugi different, and considering what he's like now…"

"You got a point there," Bakura murmured.

"You mean this has happened before?" Atemu asked with a frown. "Yugi has been kidnapped by some scientist before?"

"Yeah, when he was ten. After that he could hear everything but talking caused problems," Seto frowned. "Yugi stutters," he explained to confused looking Atemu.

"So, when are we going to get him then?" Yami asked with a frown.

"You're not, we are," Atemu said sternly. "Or more specifically, I am. You three are going to stay here."

---

Okay, this chapter seriously sucked... but I don't care. This is action period, rections shall come in later chapters or something.

And just randomly I shall put the ages of the cast here  
(name - age now - age at the time of the fire - serial code thingy)

Atemu - 21 - 7 - GPbase   
Seth - 20 - 6 - GPone prototype   
TK - 20 - 6 - GPtwo (possibly the prototype)  
Yami - 19 - 5 - GPzero   
Bakura - 19 -5 - GPtwo   
Seto - 19 - 5 - GPone   
Ryô - 18 - 4 - GPtwo   
Yugi - 16 - 2 - GPthree   
Mokuba - 14 -0 - GPone

And people, I appreciate the suggestions about possible websites to post the over-rating chapters in, I really do... when I can actually_ see_ them. You see, Fanfictiondotnet has this lovely way of deleating everything with dotnet or something similar attached to the rear, you know, like website addresses... so ditch the dotnet so that I can actually see the addresses

Many thanks to everyone for the reviews.


	13. XII Chapter

**XII chapter**

Pegasus was too arrogant. Too adjusted to winning and getting what he wanted, he was unable to expect the unexpected - like a dog that had been doing all the same trick every day could not pull a new one without it being taught to him first. Even when Yugi threw his weakness at his face, the man did not change.

The musician kept his eyes closed, carefully controlled his breathing and with his heart rate. Letting his mind wander aimlessly he even fooled the monitor that was studying his brainwaves. To all the equipments which were keeping an eye on him, he was fast asleep on his chair, hands, feet and neck tightly strapped and unable to move. Helpless.

He stifled the grimace as he felt surge of pain come from his hands. This was too easy. After years of training his hands in art of music he knew them better than he knew anything else. He knew how they worked, how they bended, how fast they could move and most of all, what he had to do to break them. Pinning his thumb between his middle- and forefinger was easy, using leverage of the chair's handle was even easier, and tadaa, his thumb was loose from his hand, lolling lifelessly against his palm.

Moving it inside his skin and bones, Yugi shifted it to the middle. It decreased thickest part of his hand almost with twenty five percent, making it ridiculously easy for him to slip his hand out of the restrain. As silently as he could Yugi rammed his palm against the hand rest and twisted it in certain direction. The thumb was back in its original place now, radiating with pain but working.

Still keeping his eyes closed, Yugi easily freed his other hand before then opening the collar holding his neck in place. Opening his eyes he glanced over his shoulder to determine the space between him and the machines monitoring him to know how much he could bend. Smiling slightly he bended and quickly freed his feet as well. This was just too easy.

Or not. Just as he started to stand up, the lights flashed on and the security light over the door started to flash. The security alarm was probably howling too, but with his ears still working less than perfect efficiency he couldn't hear it. Hissing, Yugi ripped the line off from the needle that was in his arm, the electrodes from his chest and head, before making his way quickly to the corner of the room. Air ventilation system; the classical escape route. Within seconds Yugi had the shutter off, after which he nimbly slipped into the tight channel, pulling the shutter back over the hole. Once inside he removed the needle from his arm, held it in his teeth and started to make his way inside the air vent

-

Just like old times. If Atemu would hear those words one more time he would do something rash. Sadly though this was just like old times. It actually reminded him with painful clarity about the time he had had to sneak into one prison island where TK had been held. He had done the exact same thing back then - came as close as he could to the island with a small inflatable boat before making rest of the way under water. He hadn't liked oxygen tanks then, and he didn't like them now.

Throwing the canisters back into the water with dislike, Atemu looked up to the castle that reached towards the skies on the highest point of the island. Absently he unzipped the wetsuit, eager to get out of it, before turning to look down to the water proof bag he had dragged along with him in the water. Pushing the top of the wetsuit to hang limply on his hips, the model kneeled to pen the bag and pull some normal clothing out. Before long he was fully dressed and… accessorising himself. Hand guns, knifes, three types of palm computers, radio and so forth.

He hit the radio, looking up to the castle again. "I'm all set and ready to go. Do you have the blueprints out yet, Seth?"

"Yes. What is your current location?" His cousin asked via the radio and made a thoughtful sound after Atemu had answered. "Make your way about forty meters to west, along the coast line. You should come across a cave."

"A cave?" Atemu asked curiously while shucking the bag into the waves as well.

"Yes, it leads into the dungeons underneath the castle, I guess it'll be easier to make your way through there rather than using the windows or something of the sort," Seth asked, was quiet for a moment, and then snarled. "Would you shut up already?!"

"I didn't say anything!" Atemu said defensively.

"Not you, Marik's acting like little girl here. If I hear him say _just like old times_ one more time I swear I'll shoot him - yes, Marik, I called you a little girl, now shut up already," Seth groaned. "And you wonder why we left this business. We just came back and I already don't want to see you ever again."

"Give him an extra bullet for me," Atemu chuckled and looked forward. "I think I see the cave now," he murmured and quickly made his way to the opening. It was rocky, rough and there was layer of water on the ground. "What is the distance between the cave's mouth and the dungeons?"

"No more than four hundred meters," Seth answered.

"Any changes in level, does the cave do up or down?"

"Should be pretty straight," his cousin answered and then growled. "Would you just shut up already?"

"What did he say?" Atemu asked curiously while wading into the cave.

"Something about gay tunnels. I shall ignore him from now on," Seth said sternly. "Yes, ignore you. See, this is me not caring."

"I'd say you are not good at ignoring him," Atemu mused amusedly. "You're in contact with Seto, right?"

"Of course. Give me a holler about five minutes before you need to get out of the island and he'll be there to pick you up," Seth had a strange tone in his voice. "I still don't like the fact that we included him on this."

"He has a personal helicopter which he can fly, I'd say it eases things a lot," Atemu answered with a slightest smirk.

"But still… he's not like us; he's just a producer…"

"Who carries hand gun, can pilot a helicopter, doesn't know the meaning of mercy, and is the so called son of Kaiba Gozaburo not to mention GPone and therefore genius among geniuses. I don't think he has ever been _just_ a producer. Just like you and I aren't _just_ models."

"Atemu, he's just a --"

"Are you worried because of him, or for him?" Atemu asked amusedly, now nimbly skipping from rock to rock to avoid touching the water. "Because you _know_ just as I do that he's skilled enough to not hold this little mission of ours down. He is an asset."

"And you're talking about him like he was a thing," Seth murmured.

Atemu chuckled. "You _like_ him."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No I do not!"

"Yes you do! Just listen to yourself!" Atemu laughed out loud. "Bickering back at me just like we used to do when we were just little kids. There's nothing wrong with liking someone - even if they look enough like you to be your twin."

"You're the one to talk, in your little fandom," Seth murmured. "You do realise that you are acting unlike you have in years, though? I haven't heard you laugh since we started modelling. So tell me. Is this _just_ that?"

Atemu took out a small flashlight as the light in the cave got weaker. Not that there had been much of light in the first place, it was the dead of the night after all. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I really don't know."

"I didn't think so. Marik and Bakura are telling me to concentrate onto the thing at hand, though."

"Yes, yes," Atemu sighed. "I guess I'll pick up the pace then," he murmured and started to jog in steady pace. "Is there doors or something between the caves and the dungeons?"

"Possibly."

"Possibly meaning you don't know," Atemu murmured. "Oh well, I'll break those doors when I get to them."

"What ever you do, do it quietly."

-

TK frowned, laying on his back on the floor of his ah so lovely cell. Couldn't they shut that damn noise off? Here he was just trying to sleep and they turn the darn alarms on. Rubbing his eyes tiredly he wondered mildly what was going on. Was it Marik or was the brat upstairs escaping? As happy as he would be if he would be free again, couldn't these people do these things in the day time so that people could sleep at night?

He heard interesting clicking sound over the howl of the alarm, which made him look up. It was coming from the door not that far from him, the handle was turning… just before the door plain fell from its hinges, falling flat to the floor with a horrible bang. Behind the door Bakura saw surprised man who had apparently been just picking the lock.

"Now I'm just disappointed," the man stood up. "…and what the heck is that noise?"

"Security alarm," TK answered before nimbly hopping to his feet. He looked the man from top to toe as his eyes widened with surprise. "Well, I'll be the king of the damned. What the hell are you doing here, Pharaoh?"

"TK!" the other man looked just as surprised as he did. "Well, now I'm even more disappointed. I was hoping for some sneaking around before I would find you. Half of the mission gone through and I didn't even do anything," the supermodel walked to his cell door and started to pick the lock. "And for your information I'm here to rescue you and the boy you kidnapped. Marik asked me and Kaiba Seto is paying."

"Marik _asked_ you? Not threatened, bribed… anything? He asked you and you came out from your early retirement?" TK asked with disbelief while reaching for the other man and pulling one of Atemu's hand guns from its holster. "Why do I have difficulties of believing that?" he tugged the gun under his belt.

"Because you're an idiot, and stop stealing my stuff," Atemu growled at him while he reached for one of man's knifes. "Get your own weapons!"

"I would love to but I don't see a weapon shop around here, do you?" TK sneered. "And you suck at picking locks. Give me that," he took the skeleton key from the other man's fingers and started to pick the lock himself. "How did you get into the island?"

"The same way we did back when you were thrown in prison," Atemu said and made himself useful by checking the other corridors for people. "What triggered the alarm I wonder? Seth, do you know?" he spoke to the radio.

TK looked up with surprise. "Seth? Seth's back in the game too? This is kinda cool, just like -"

"Say it and I'll shoot you," Atemu glared at him. "It's annoying enough when Marik says it; you really don't need to start."

"Okay, sheesh," TK murmured and managed to get the cell door open. "Can't a guy be a little nostalgic? Excellent picklock by the way."

"You should know, it's yours," the model shrugged. "Any idea where they're holding Yugi?"

"In the room just upon this chamber as far as I know. I heard them talk through the air vents so it can't be far," TK said. "That kid got some spunk, by the way - and I have to admire his style even though cannibalism really isn't my thing."

"Cannibalism?" Atemu looked shocked.

"Yeah, I heard him lose it yesterday; he was planning on eating Pegasus' eyeball and then handful of vital intestines. He sounded rather pissed off," TK smirked. "He also told Pegasus plainly that he was going to escape and that there was nothing Pegasus could do to stop it. He might've been the one who triggered the alarm off too."

Atemu blinked slowly and then quickly shook his head. "We need to find him in any case. Come on."

"And what do we do after we find him?"

"Call for our driver and get out of here, of course. What, were you hoping to stay for tea or something?" Atemu glared at him.

"No, I was kind of hoping to get a shot at killing Pegasus - or at least chance to see if Yugi would rip his eye out. Pegasus's eye I mean," TK followed him into the corridor. "We can kill Pegasus, right? I really need to kill the bastard, no one betrays me."

"Yes, yes, you'll get to kill Pegasus. Now shut up."

-

I'm still on drugs, Yugi mused to himself while lying on his stomach on the air vent, looking down through the shutter to corridor below where Pegasus's security guards and scientists were running around as if the place was on fire. He was having fun watching them run around like that; he kind of wished he could hear what they were saying. He also felt that starting a fire of sort would be good idea. Yeah, he was still on drugs.

Dragging himself on the air vent, Yugi wondered if he could in this mess access any of the computers of the scientists. They had the chemical formula of the inhibitor protein and he needed to get that. It would be his only shot at living a normal life all this was over, only thing that could keep his already annoying senses at bay. He didn't want smallest touch to feel like blow, he didn't want to feel every single chance in temperature and every huff of air with overactive efficiency - and he certainly didn't want to smell what people had eaten and if they needed to visit the dentist from their breaths. The hearing was awful enough.

He came into crossing of air vents. Two went to his left and right, and two went up and down. It was a tricky spot, but he managed to squeeze his way into the vent that continued to his right, to the direction where he supposed that the computers were held. Getting people out of the room would be another thing, but he already had some kind of idea how to do it. With a smirk he continued crawling along the corridors, then turning to his left and peaking down the shutters. Yep, a room full of computers - and people.

Carefully Yugi removed the shutter, knowing by touch if he was being quiet or not. Then, as the scientists below were hurriedly doing something with their computers, he peaked out and looked at the ceiling around the air vent. He was lucky. The fire alarm was just next to the vent, and no one noticed him start to mess with it. Yugi removed the shell, glanced at the workings. With a smirk he took the needle from his teeth and then used it to join two conduits.

He could tell from the following vibration that he had managed to trigger the fire alarm as well. Amusedly he watched how the scientists looked up in horror, quickly finished what ever they were doing and started to evacuate. Sticking his head out Yugi looked around in the room, searching for the security camera. He found it from the corner of the room, aimed at the computers and unmoving.

It was time to tests what absence of inhibitor and drugs in his system could enable him to do. Nimbly Yugi hoisted himself down to hang on the air vent. He smiled at pipes and such on the ceiling, and easily hoisted himself to them not only by his hands but by his feet so that no part of him would fall into the camera's view. Then, using his new found agility and strength to his advantage, he made his way to the camera. When he got to it, staying carefully out of its view, he used the needle to remove the shell and started to mess with the mechanics inside. Shutting the camera off would be stupid because it would alert the security guards in the control room, so he did something more difficult. Using the needle to cause malfunction that froze the camera to show only one frame, Yugi smiled to himself, for first time in his life thoroughly enjoying his abilities.

Once the camera had been rigged, Yugi dropped down and walked to the computers. He hadn't touched one in a while he mused while running his fingers over the keyboard. With a smirk he decided to do something special for the occasion.

-

"Atemu, someone else is hacking into Pegasus's security system," Seth warned Atemu who was desperately trying to shut out the noise of two different alarms. "And it's done from _inside_ the system itself."

"Inside? You mean someone here, in this island is hacking into the computers?" Atemu asked curiously. "Why would anyone here do that, shouldn't they all already have access onto the files?"

"Could be someone else, another party we haven't considered," Seth didn't sound overly convinced of that, though.

"Or it could be the brat," TK suggested. "Maybe he caused the fire alarm too."

"Hmm… Seth, can you pinpoint from where the hacker is working?" Atemu asked with a frown.

"Yes, it's room on the first floor, rather near the room where you thought Mutô was being held. And damn who ever is doing it is working fast! He's already downloading the files!" Seth sounded stunned which in turn impressed Atemu. His cousin was rarely awed. "Oh shit. He's messing with the security system now, taking down the cameras and the motion sensors... oh, crap… I lost the blueprints!"

"You mean we need to go blind here?" Atemu asked with disbelief. That wouldn't be good. He sighed when Seth answered affirmative and looked at TK. "Now it's starting to be just like old times."

"We're knee high on shit again?" TK grimaced. "Go figure. Any plans now, Mr Supermodel?"

"When the situation is similar to the old times, we work like we did in the old times," Atemu grimaced while pulling out his gun and turning the safety off. "Shoot them before they shoot you."

TK smirked widely. "I like the sound of that plan. I hope you have extra clips, because I'm feeling quite trigger happy right now."

"Just… try not to get killed, and kill quickly," Atemu peaked into the corridor again while handing half of the extra ammo to the thief. "And keep an eye out on Yugi; we're not leaving without him."

-

Yugi slid one of the three minidisks he burned into his pocket, other into his sleeve and placed the third onto the table before starting to really mess with the computer system. It was exhilarating, having his mind and hands working in what was so called natural function for them. He was made to work with computers, and it was so beautifully easy. It kind of reminded him of playing piano, actually. This time there was no sound, though, only needles flow of computer code that he was writing.

Almost there, he mused to himself while more and more text was written. Bringing the security system down wasn't enough for him, no. He wanted to erase it. Erase every single file Pegasus had on him, on the Genius Project, everything. But in the end even that wasn't enough, so instead of just deleting it all he was creating a computer virus which would do his work for him not only here but everywhere in the 'net. It would search and destroy every single file with mentions of the project in it.

He was just almost finished when he felt a draft on is skin and was assaulted by disgustingly familiar scent. Looking over his shoulder but never ceasing from writing, Yugi saw Pegasus along with handful of security guards walking into the room, all of them holding guns. Pegasus didn't look happy. "Your little escape ends here, GPthree," Yugi could read from the man's lips. "Freeze."

"Freeze? In this temperature?" With arrogant smirk, Yugi hit the final codes and launched the virus. Then he turned around and held his hands up. "Say buhbye to your files."

"Why should I when you made copies?" the silver haired man raised an eyebrow and motioned towards the disk with his gun. "Hand it over."

"Oh this? In this there is only a single file," Yugi took the minidisk and held it carelessly. "The formula for the inhibitor protein and nothing more."

"You didn't take any other files? I find that hard to believe," the president of Industrial illusions sneered. He motioned one of the guards to go and crab the disk from Yugi. "Check his pockets, he might've made copies," the man added with superior smile.

Yugi grimaced as the security guard went through his pockets and found the second disk. As the guard turned to hand over the disks, Pegasus smirked at him even more superiorly than before. The smirk froze as Yugi's inhumanly fast hands moved over the careless guard, one easily slipping underneath the man's jacket and pulling out the gun from its holster while other took the gun from the man's hip holster. Within fractions of seconds Yugi turned the safety off from both guns, aimed one of them at the security guard's temple while other was aimed at Pegasus.

"Careless workers you have, this is ridiculously easy," Yugi smiled at the silver haired man.

Pegasus glared at him with that darn smirk still lingering on his lips. "You don't have what it takes to --"

Yugi couldn't hear the sound, but he smelled the powder, felt the kick and saw the flash as he pulled the trigger. The security guard fell to the floor and Yugi aimed both guns at Pegasus at his guards, not caring about the blood that had splattered to his face or about the fact that he had just killed a person.

"I don't?" the teen smirked. "You're the one who pumped me full of drugs, Pegasus. I have no inhabitations right now, I feel no remorse and I can hardly even remember what conscience is. Later I will wail my heart out because of what I just did, but right now I don't give rat's ass. So," Yugi titled his head. "What shall we do now?"

"It's eight against one, GPthree, you have no chance --" Pegasus glared.

"I don't? Well, considering that you can't really shoot me to kill me, I think I have pretty good odds," Yugi smirked, continuing before Pegasus could say anything. "Of course you can't try and kill me. I'm all you got, with the files deleted…"

"You don't think we have backups?"

"You think I don't have way to get to those as well? They're probably gone already, if they aren't they soon will be," Yugi smirked. "So. What shall we do not? You can't kill me; I don't care if I kill you… I think it's me who has the upper hand right now."

Pegasus grimaced and motioned at his guards. "Get him!" Yugi smirked, crouched, backed underneath the desk and tipped it over, taking cover behind it. Then the shooting begun. The teen knew that he was supposed to be afraid out of his mind, but right now he could only think how fun this was going to be.

-

Atemu and TK stilled for a moment. After the first gunshot they had been hurrying towards the sound, but now they could hear continuous flow of shooting. "I think I know this music," TK smirked and tapped his temple with his gun. "Do you think we should crash that party?"

"Come on," the model murmured, no longer caring about being quiet or careful. Not with this gunfire. He just ran to the direction of the sound.

"Damn it, the files I downloaded from Pegasus's database are gone!" Seth murmured in the radio. "And the database itself is crashing. Atemu, ask TK if his computer has viruses."

"Not right now, Seth," Atemu growled, the sound of shooting growing louder as they came closer. They weren't the only ones who had noticed it though. Atemu and TK froze at the sight of the guards rushing towards the sound, but it was too late. They were noticed. "Crap," the model murmured and with skill that couldn't be forgotten raised his gun to shoot for the first time in years.

"This is starting to get messy," TK beside him cursed over the gunfire. "Why are all our escapes always this loud?"

"Must be bad luck," Atemu said with shake of his head. To his disgust he noticed one more thing that was just like in old times. He was competing with TK who got better shot and who shot the most. TK aimed at the forehead while Atemu aimed at the heart, and neither missed their spot. Soon the security guards were down, and automatically the two criminals moved. TK easily picked the guns of the fallen and threw one of them to Atemu before they were again racing towards the sound of the gunfire. They were how ever stalled soon again by the arrival of more guards.

"How many people this guy had working for him?!" TK hissed while the shooting begun.

"I don't know but they're probably all heading to this direction," Atemu growled and switched guns after the clip emptied. "Let's keep moving," he said, taking advantage of the fact that the guards were taking cover. TK followed him and soon they were shooting while running.

"This is kinda fun in that risking-your-life-every-step-you-take-way," TK murmured and smirked maliciously at one guard before blowing the man's brains out. "I haven't had a showdown like this in a while."

"You're sick," Atemu murmured and looked around to see if there was anyone living in the corridor. "Come on," he them said and they continued towards the sounds of the other showdown. Soon they came to the door where the shooting came and were shocked by a sight of handful security guards on the ground while the living were doing their best to shoot at something hiding behind fallen desk.

"Pegasus," TK smirked beside Atemu and joined the shooting. The model grimaced and joined in as well. There weren't that many people in the room and they were all pretty easy to shoot down, as none of them were even taking cover. Within seconds, only Pegasus himself stood in the room, looking perplexed. Then, at the sight of TK, he turned horrified. "Hello boss," the self-proclaimed Thief King smirked. "Whacha shootin'?"

"How did you get out of the cell?" Pegasus asked, horrified. "And is… is that Pharaoh Atemu?"

"In the flesh," Atemu growled. This was the person who had kidnapped his idol. Atemu aimed his gun at the man and wondered where to shoot first.

"And we're pretty pissed of at you. Where's the brat?" TK asked. Before Pegasus could answer though, one more shot echoed in the room. The silver haired president of Industrial Illusions gasped and fell down, his knee bleeding. Shocked Atemu and TK turned to look towards the direction where they had seen the flash of gunshot come, and saw the teen TK had kidnapped and Atemu had came to rescue.

"I'm right here," Mutô Yugi had almost insane gleam in his eyes as he aimed his guns at the two of them. His head was half covered in unravelling bandages and there was blood splattered on right cheek. The smirk in his face rivalled the smirk Marik had on a bloody day. "And you two ruined my fun."

---

Uhuhuhu, that was fun to write. I need to write this kind of stuff more. I'm going to bring up the rating and change this from Drama/Romance into Drama/Action and adventure. And about the later chapters, I'm just going to post it here and see what happens. If they let people like yugiexyamihawt111 stay on this site I doubt they will block me for some sex... And Mokuba didn't escape, he was adopted by Kaiba Gozaburo just like Seto was.

Thank you all for reviews, I luve you all


	14. XIII Chapter

**XIII Chapter**

TK and Atemu stood frozen, staring at the teen Atemu had came to rescue while Pegasus was wheezing strained breaths, trying to press his bloody knee so that it wouldn't bleed so much. Yugi, who had been the one to shoot the president of the Industrial Illusions Corporation eyed the two of them, completely ignoring the dead bodies or the injured CEO. The boy's wide artificial-violet eyes still held a twinkle of insanity in them and the smirk still lingered.

Atemu nearly shivered but suppressed it forcefully. He had seen lot of murderers, assassins and other criminals of he sort - and of course he had grown with people like Seth, TK and Marik - so he knew some scary people. He had witnessed how TK could turn into blood lusting beast when pushed too far, how Marik enjoyed torturing people with such honesty that sadist wasn't word strong enough for him and of course he had witnessed Seth, who usually preferred to stay behind the curtains and offer technical support, snap into the most skilled assassin Atemu had ever seen… but for some reason this teen before him with blood splattered over his face, terrified him the most.

Why? Because his instincts told him that the gun pointed to his direction was not aimed to his heart of forehead but to joint in his shoulder, into nerve point where a bullet wound would cause most pain as well as immobilise him immediately? Because he could see that the boy before him was beyond caring if he killed them or not? Because there was absolutely no fear of death or retribution in the teen's eyes?

No… it was because even now, with dead littered all over the wall, Yugi's eyes still held almost horrifying innocence in them. He wasn't holding the guns because he was trying to protect himself, not because he wanted to escape, he didn't even actually want to harm them. No, he was just having fun like a child with a new toy.

"Aren't you the guy who kidnapped me?" the teen tilted his head to the side, his eyes now resting in TK. For a moment Atemu was sure that the boy would shoot the thief, but instead the boy's smirk just widened and he moved his gun from side to side in strangely playful fashion. Eeny meeny miny mo, which limb will be the first to go… "I heard Pegasus threw you into dungeon or something."

"Yeah, he did," TK frowned. "Kid, maybe you should but the guns down before you hurt someone."

Wrong thing to say. Yugi frowned slightly and aimed the gun previously aimed at Atemu at Pegasus. "Like this?" he asked, and abruptly shot Pegasus again - through the man's other knee. He didn't even seem to hear the long haired man wail out in agony and didn't even notice how Pegasus fell to his side, now writhing in pain. He just smirked at TK widely.

The gun moved lazily to aim at Atemu again - this time another nerve point, making the model almost shiver again. "I don't think I want to put the guns down… TK, was it? See, I want to hurt someone," the teen spoke with creepy cheeriness in his voice. "I want to hurt Pegasus; I want to hurt him a lot. He nearly burned me inside out with his drugs, and I don't like that. I don't like being treated like some item, I don't like being called GPthree, and I most certainly don't like being confined in laboratories. Besides… he started it."

"Okay, I guess that's fair," TK said holding his hands up in surrender. "I would want to hurt him too. Wait. I do want to hurt him, he betrayed me," the thief suddenly smirked. "What do you have in mind, kid?"

Atemu nearly groaned, eying the thief. Did the man have no common sense at all? Then he blinked with surprise as Yugi lowered the gun aimed at TK with a cheerful smile. "I'm going to start by ripping his eyeball out. Just like I promised." The teen's violet eyes moved to Atemu next, narrowing slightly. "Aren't you that supermodel, Pharaoh Atemu?"

"It's a farce, he's really a crime lord," TK said solemnly, making Atemu desperately want to shoot the man. Not noticing or not caring, the thief continued. "He actually came here to rescue you and me, your producer asked him to."

"Oh," the drugged teen eyed the model up and down. After moment he pulled the gun away. "I guess that's fine then." And then he and TK turned to Pegasus as if in unison, both bearing similar smirks. Atemu breathed softly with relief, and turned to Pegasus as well. Now that the danger of being shot by his idol was gone the model found himself thoroughly pissed. It was Pegasus's fault that Yugi was acting like this, and the man would pay for what he had done!

"Now, which eye shall I take, the left or right one?" Yugi asked casually while approaching the long haired man. Pegasus's expression turned from pained into horrified and he tried to helplessly back away from the approaching teen. His struggles just widened Yugi's grin and TK's lips spreaded into sadistic smile. "Now now, where are you going, Pegasus? Leaving so soon? Please stay, the fun is just about to start," Yugi chuckled and the fact that his chuckle remained innocent made it all the more horrible.

"Don't touch me, you monster!" Pegasus cried, trying to look for something underneath his jacket - gun perhaps.

"Monster?" Yugi crouched before the fallen man. "Wasn't I just a thing before? Just a human made thing that didn't deserve a name?" the teen positioned the barrels of his guns strategically over Pegasus's wounded knees. Atemu had to look away as he pressed the guns down hard, and then couldn't help the grimace at the crunch-sound and breathless scream that followed. "My, my, I think you have shattered kneecaps, Pegasus. It must hurt so much. Pity you don't have the pain tolerance of a GPmodel."

"It's almost like watching Marik do his thing," TK murmured absently and the mental image didn't help Atemu all that much.

"I - wont allow - you to - touch me - you fiend," Pegasus wheezed out in pained voice.

"You won't… _allow_ me?" Yugi sounded almost delighted at the resistance. "And how exactly are you planning to stop me?"

"Like this!" at first Atemu thought that the man had pulled out a gun. However the shape was wrong, making Atemu at first think of cell phone or remote control. Then he forgot all about it as Yugi suddenly let out an ear-splitting scream, the guns falling from his hands as he urgently cribbed the back of his head. Pegasus sneered as Yugi fell to the floor beside him, writhing in pain and clawing the back of his neck as if trying to dig something out.

"The chip!" TK darted forward immediately, shaking Atemu put of his haze and into motion. Quickly the model rushed to his fallen idol, kneeling beside him and taking his head into his lap to stop the boy from hurting himself while TK easily wrestled the black remote from Pegasus' hands. TK pressed the button in the remote, and Yugi fell not only silent but still in Atemu's hold, out cold.

"How's that for pain, you little piece of sh - " Pegasus malicious growl was abruptly halted by TK who stomped his heel right over the man's broken knees, causing the man cry out in pain.

"Shut up you bastard," the thief said with enraged look about his eyes before turning to Atemu. "How is he?"

Checking Yugi's pulse and breathing, Atemu frowned. "His pulse and breathing are both erratic. What _was_ that?" he looked up to TK again. "You said… chip?"

"Yeah, Pegasus had some scientists put some kind of chip into the base of Yugi's skull, I think it sends electric shocks straight into his brain," TK looked at the remote in disgust before turning to Pegasus with look of utter loathing on his face. "Fucking bastard. Don't think that you're any safer now that Yugi's out cold, because you definitely deserve to have your eye ripped out."

Atemu looked back down to Yugi before touching his radio. "Seth, tell Seto to get over here. Yugi needs medical attention."

"Right," Seth's voice was somewhat tight. He had probably heard the whole thing through Atemu's radio. Atemu sighed and carefully gathered Yugi to his arms before standing up.

TK glanced at him. "You do know I'm not leaving before I get some proper retribution, don't you? Pegasus betrayed me and threw me in his smelly dungeon… and I kind of like that brat," he eyed Yugi. "For what he did to the kid Pegasus deserve to die a long death."

"I don't argue with that," Atemu said with a frown. "But Yugi needs to get to hospital."

"You go," TK nodded. "Let me handle the cleanup."

"You sure? How are you going to get off the island?"

"There's bound to be boats of helicopters here, I'll find my way."

Atemu frowned slightly before slowly nodding. "I expect to hear from you tomorrow in the latest," he said sternly, ignoring the fact that he hadn't used that particular tone of voice since he had started modelling.

"Sure thing, boss," TK smirked and turned to Pegasus while Atemu carried unconscious Yugi out of the bloodied computer filled room. The bloodcurdling scream that soon echoed in the corridors made him smirk in somewhat satisfied way.

-

Yugi was rushed into hospital where they found out that there was nothing they could really do except to remove the chip from his skull. After that they could only wait until the drugs cleared from his system. As for what came to his hearing, he would hear again but it would take some time. The chattered workings of the musician's ears had been replaced but they weren't functioning yet, that would take time.

"So, what made him act like that were the drugs?" Atemu asked.

"Probably. He has several of them clashing in his system and they are generating bursts of hormones, lack of others. He most likely is without any inhabitations at the moment," the doctor told to the worried listeners. "He should be free of them in no time, though. For some reason his metabolism is quite high at the moment, so it will take less than a day for his body to regain its normal chemical balance."

"He really was creepy then?" Mokuba asked from Atemu when the doctor walked away.

"Creepy? Kid, I've had several different people pointing guns at me, but your little musician was the first one to make me feel afraid of being shot," TK shivered in his seat. "He aimed at the nerve points too, that would've hurt like bitch." He chuckled. "After he stopped pointing guns at me it became almost fun, though. The whole torture Pegasus thing…"

Atemu frowned. After he and Seto had taken Yugi to hospital, TK had spent the whole night in Pegasus's island causing chaos and destruction. It was in the morning news in fact, they said that it was gas explosion; nothing in the castle had survived. Such flashy acts so like TK that it was painful, but at least it wiped the evidence out

There was short silence in the hospital waiting room, TK sitting beside Mokuba and Seth on one bench while Yami and Ryo were seated on other. Seto was standing by the door and Bakura was sitting on the window sill. For one moment Atemu felt somewhat sickened by the thought that of everyone in the room, no one was "normal" human. Each and every one of them was created in laboratory, probably in the same one… and Atemu himself was the prototype for the prototypes.

Yami seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "What are we going to do about this GP business?" he asked with a frown.

"Nothing," Seto answered strictly. "Pegasus is very much dead, Yugi's virus is, according to Seth," he nodded respectively at Seth who nodded back hesitantly, "eating all information about us from the internet so… I say we do nothing. Tighten the security maybe but that's all."

"Tighten the security, how can _you_ tighten the security?" Bakura asked with disbelief. "You have _voice identification system_ in your work place."

"Shut up, Bakura," Seto glared at him.

"I think Seto's right," Mokuba said quietly. "If not for our sake then Yugi's. I don't think he'll want to remember any of this."

"You think the drugs will make him forget?" Ryô asked hopefully.

"I don't think so, that would be mercy and I don't see Pegasus acting merciful," Atemu grimaced. There was a moment of silence again, in which Yami and Mokuba glanced at the others awkwardly. Seeing that they were a bit of a bother, Atemu glance Seth and TK and jerked his head meaningfully towards the door. "I think I'm going to visit the gift shop downstairs," he said.

"I'll come with you," Seth murmured and TK just followed, leaving Seto, Bakura, Yami, Ryô and Mokuba to talk amongst themselves.

"Being discreet, Pharaoh?" TK asked amusedly.

"They looked like they needed to talk and I need to talk with you," the model said while they took stand in the elevator. "I want this GP business buried so deep underground that the gods themselves can't find it," he said with frown. "I want everyone who had anything to do with it either killed or silenced. I want the whole matter _gone_ from the face of the earth."

"Such feat would require lot of work," TK murmured somewhat slyly. "It's not just a little thing to do since we don't know how far this thing has spreaded."

"He's right," Seth seemed a bit smug too. "With the computer files all gone I can't even help you there; this has to be done manually. That means, what, interrogations, bribes, possibly assassinations, lot of cleaning… things that people have to do in person."

"And Marik probably won't help you. Not unless he gets to name at least ten-digit-price," TK leaned to the wall of the calculator. "So it most certainly won't happen by it self."

Atemu glared at the two of them. "Fine," he grunted. "I'll think about returning to the Royal House. Stop looking so smug."

"I knew he would come around," TK nodded happily.

"I knew it too, took a bit longer than I suspected, but I knew it too," Seth smiled. Atemu just groaned in annoyance and stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. While Seth went to get them some coffee from the cafeteria, Atemu and TK walked into the gift shop. While TK spend his time looking at the little teddy bears with great amusement, Atemu eyed the bouquets for one that was pretty and didn't have any flowers of undying love in them. It was almost pitiful how many of the bouquets had roses in them.

He ended up picking one with Azeleas. While TK bought a teddy bear that had one of its eyes covered with little bandages, Atemu wrote few clichéd lines to the card which was attached to the flowers. After he had paid for them, he and TK joined Seth at the cafeteria.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Seth asked while handing Atemu and TK their coffees. "I mean, will we head to Royal House manor right away or to where Mahado and Mana are?"

Atemu sighed, stirring his coffee. He didn't really want to go anywhere. He almost wished he was part of the group close to Yugi so that he could stay around his idol, to see what kind of person the teen was when he wasn't influenced by foreign chemicals. But he wasn't part of their group; Yami even seemed uncomfortable around him.

He snorted. People said that he had everything and if he wanted something he always got it. What fools. "We'll go home, to Mahado and Mana. We'll think things through there," he decided and sipped his coffee. He had no right to stick around, seeing that none of these people had actually contacted him. They were in business with Marik, not them.

"Do you want to go see Mutô?" Seth asked carefully.

Did he? Atemu frowned down to the bouquet he had bought. The boy was still unconscious and even if he weren't… he was still utterly out of the model's reach. Even if he wrote the lyrics, Yugi didn't know that and Atemu wasn't sure if he would be ever able to tell. "No. I'll ask one of the nurses to take the flowers to his room," he decided.

"Find by me, though I kind of wanted to get to know the two mini-mes," TK murmured. "Bakura, and… Ryô I think his name was. Oh well, you can't have everything."

You certainly couldn't. Atemu smiled and saw his cousin slump slightly at the sight of his utterly fake expression.

-

"He's awake," the doctor interrupted the silence in the waiting room, causing everyone to stand up. Thankfully the man didn't see to have anything against letting all five of them into Yugi's room since he just led them to the door. While Mokuba and Ryô, who in the group were the closest to Yugi, rushed forward to hug the petite musician, Yami frowned slightly at the look on Yugi's face. He had never seen anyone looking so hollow.

He, Seto and Bakura slipped into the room while the two managers asked questions in rapid fire. Was Yugi okay, was he in pain, did he need anything, could they get him something… Yugi eyed them somewhat vacantly, making Yami wonder if he could even hear them before the musician smiled a smile so fake that it looked painful. "I'm fine," he said. "There's no need to worry."

There was a short silence as everyone processed what he had said. It was broken by Bakura who turned to Seto. "What happened to his stutter?" he whispered. "And shouldn't he still be kinda deaf?"

"I can't hear but I can read lips," Yugi answered easily. "And the stutter was caused by chemical imbalance I my brain, imbalance that was corrected by… Pegasus's scientists." He didn't even grimace, just smiled hollowly before reaching for something in his sleeve. "Which reminds me…" he murmured before pulling a small minidisk out of the cloth. "I need someone to make this for me," he said holding the disk up.

"What is it?" Ryô asked carefully.

"Formula of my inhibitor protein, I downloaded it before I crashed the database. It'll make me… normal again," Yugi smiled again, causing Yami to look away, unable to talk the empty expression anymore. "It'll make me hear and see and smell… normally."

"I'll see what I can do," Seto said while taking the disk.

"Thank you."

"Wait, does it mean that once we get this inhibitor thing done, you can listen to normal music?" Mokuba asked. "As in background orchestra for a concert…?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll definitely see what I can do," Seto murmured and headed to the door. "Excuse me…"

There was short silence again as no one of them really knew what to say to a person who had been just kidnapped and used as human lab rat. Yugi himself just eyed them vacantly, almost as if he wasn't really seeing them at all. Or seeing something no one else could see.

The silence was eventually broken by discreet knock at the door. It was a nurse with bouquet of flowers. "Excuse me, someone asked me to bring these…" she said shyly and slipped in. she handed Yugi a strange little teddy bear in bandages before quickly getting a vase for the flowers. "The three gentlemen who asked me to bring these apologized for leaving," she said and put the flowers into the vase.

"I guess TK, Atemu and Seth had to leave," Ryô murmured.

Yugi eyed the one-eyed teddy bear with strange expression before reading the card attached to it. His vacant expression turned into little smile before he turned to flowers and reaching for the card. They all saw him tense at the sight of the writing. "It can't be," he murmured, untying the card from the flowers and reading it more intently. "It is…"

"What is? Yugi, is something wrong?" Ryô asked while Mokuba read the card attached to the teddy bear.

"'He died one eyed; if you want I can have it delivered to you…' What the…" the Kaiba Record's manager murmured with confusion before noticing the way Yugi was staring at the other card.

Yugi looked up from the card. "Pharaoh Atemu… his handwriting… He's the one who wrote the lyrics to my songs."

---

I've been uninspirated and writersblocked, sorry for the lack of updates... and no, I don't have this thing on any other website, this thing is being posted as soon as it's written.

**Question!** Who is interested of seeing some Seto/Seth and Ryô/Bakura/TK?


	15. XIV Chapter

**XIV chapter**

"Atemu, tell that creepy wench to stay the hell away from me!" TK growled in as manly way as anyone could while hiding behind someone else. Atemu looked up from the still unopened envelope to see the self proclaimed thief king hiding behind very amused Seth while Mana approached them with extremely threatening camera in her hand. Mahado was leaning to the doorframe, trying to stifle his chuckles.

"Now now, TK. I'll just take few pictures, it won't hurt you," the tanned young woman said with a little smirk on her face while aiming at the thief with the camera. "You really should think about modelling, you have this gorgeous ruffian look going on with you… the messy hair, tanned skin, the scar, just yummy. Now stay still --"

"No!" TK dived away from the line of camera-fire and hid behind Atemu's divan. "Atemu, tell her to stop, she's creeping me out," the thief whined while hiding behind the model. "And tell me again why I'm here in the first place?"

"You're here because you tagged along on your own free will," Atemu couldn't help but smirk while placing the envelope down. When Mana approached with the camera, he reached back and tugged the thief king up from the floor and into the divan, pinning him down so that the manager could have her shot. "She has a point, though, there is some strange rough charm in you," he mused while the thief tried to escape. It was too late though, with a flash TK's image was trapped in the memory card of the digital camera.

"Are you saying you think I'm handsome?" TK asked suspiciously and tried to pull back from the model, which was pretty much impossible concerning that Atemu was nearly sitting on him. "Just to let you know, I don't like you that way," the thief growled and glared at Mana who was still taking pictures. "Would you stop that you wench?!"

"Just few more. That's a good look on you, by the way…" She murmured happily and snapped away for a moment before lowering the camera. "All done, thanks Atem."

"No problem, just show me how they came out once you've printed them," the model chuckled and released the thief. "Now run along TK and don't steal anything."

"Just for that I'm going to have another go at your safe… I really need to get out of this madhouse…" TK murmured sullenly and walked away. Atemu chuckled after him while Seth took seat on the other divan and Mahado followed Mana out of the room. The model took the letter back into his hand and examined it with a little frown before gently opening it and pulling the single sheet of paper out.

-

Dear Atemu

Or should I write "Dear Mr Pharaoh"? Probably, but I can't. I don't know why but writing such formal letter just doesn't seem right. Not that I've ever actually written formal letter, or informal for that matter. This might be actually the first letter I've ever written, so I apologise if you find it blunt or insulting. In any case it just seems out of place because to me it feels like I know you well enough for us to be first name basis, like you know me well enough…

Because you wrote the lyrics to my songs. I know you did. It's strange that it should be you, my rescuer… and still some how very fitting. Though I must wonder why you did not say anything to anyone. Did you not know we were looking for you? But perhaps this is better way.

I asked others not to approach you on this matter because I wanted to do it personally. It's just too important matter to me to let Mokuba or Seto to do it for me. Too close to the heart. You wrote the lyrics to the music I spend days and days honing, and the lyrics were _so_ perfect… making me feel like I had been waiting for you to write them ever since I created the music. Like I had been waiting for you.

I'm sorry if I seem too forward, I cannot help it. Ever since you sent the lyrics, I have been carrying them with me always, loving them a little bit more with each time I read them. I want to create more music so that you can write the words… and of course, I want no one but Yami to sing them. It just seems right that way.

Would it be too much to ask for you to answer me? Am I being too hopeful, once again too naïve…? In any case, I'll write my address to the bottom… just in case.

With hope

Mutô Yugi

-

Atemu nearly forgot to breath. Was it, could it be… was it…? Yugi had written him… and he liked the lyrics, he carried them with him… and wanted more! But how did he know that Atemu was the one to write the lyrics? How could he be so sure? Did it matter? Yugi had written him… _Yugi_ had written _him_…! And Yugi wanted him to write back!

"Atemu? Is something wrong?" Seth asked with worry while reaching for the bowl of grapes between the two divans. "I haven't seen you blush like that in… very long time. What's in the letter?"

Atemu looked up with surprise. He was blushing? The model looked back to the letter, feeling his insides squirm. Yes, he was blushing. His heart was hammering. His breathing was weird. But how could he not react when his idol was writing to him, hoping him to write back? Gods, Yugi liked his lyrics….

"I-I think I need to sit down," Atemu mumbled somewhat incoherently.

"You're already sitting," Seth frowned. "Atemu? Are you alright? What's in that letter?"

"I-it's from Yugi, Yugi wrote to me…" Atemu whispered and looked up, smile starting to bloom on his lips. "And he wants me to write back to him!"

Seth looked after him with shocked amusement as he bolted up from the divan and then out of the room. "Okay…?" the brown haired model murmured, wondering if this was such a good things. Atemu was planning on returning to the Royal Family after all, so was making friends with the petite artists the best thing to do? But then again… Seth sighed and smiled sadly. It had been ages since Atemu had acted like he just had. The other model really had such a crush on the musician.

"This whole house is insane," Seth murmured while taking few grapes and lying down on the divan. For some reason thinking about Atemu and Yugi led his thoughts to the cold eyed president of Kaiba Records. If Atemu and Yugi started to spend time together… did it mean he could see the producer again?

-

Dear Yugi

I don't mind the casualness; I think I prefer it to formality. Although, I can't help but wonder how you found out that it was me. I have never told anyone, not even Seth. Not that it really matters, I suppose. You found me - in more ways than one - and I'm glad.

I truly love your music. I can honestly say that I've never heard anything as beautiful as the things you have created. The first time I heard Namonaki Yami sing the lyrics I wrote to the _Puzzle_ I nearly cried. It was… so stunning, your and his union. I couldn't believe that you used my lyrics, I still sometimes don't. It was overwhelming and I still feel so honoured when I think about it.

I would love to write more lyrics for your music. If you truly think that my writing is worthy enough… I would like nothing more.

How are you, by the way? Last time I saw you, you were in the hospital unconscious… and, I dread to ask, can you hear?

I look forward to hearing from you

Pharaoh Atemu

-

Dear Atemu

You really would work with me, write more lyrics for me? I'm so glad! Thank you so much, I don't think I could've handled it if someone else but you would write them. As for how I figured it was you… from your handwriting. The handwriting in the card on the flowers and in the lyrics was identical, so it had to be you.

And I'm getting better. I was released from hospital just few days ago, when the remains of the drugs cleared away. The doctors are a bit confused about how my ears are healing themselves, but they still are. I should be able to hear normally in month or so, and then I'll get to go back to work too. Now I'm on sick leave or something of the sort, and I have nothing to really do.

Would… would it be too much of me to ask if we could meet? When we did I was kind of in drugs and, uh, not myself. I would like to try and make up for my bad first impression and I think that talking about our future teamwork might be easier face to face. Any time is good for me, though I can understand if you don't want to, I can even play right now, so… and you're probably a very busy man anyway.

Yours sincerely

Yugi.

-

Dear Yugi

I'm most certainly not that busy, and I want to meet you again too. How abut this Friday, around six? The address I'm writing this is your home address, right? I could pick you up and we could talk over dinner. How does that sound?

Awaiting your reply

Atemu

-

Yugi paced anxiously in the living room of his and Sugoroku's house while the old shop keeper was fine tuning a cello. The old man seemed to be amused by his 'grandson's' behaviour as well as the way Yugi kept on tugging on the collar of his shirt nervously.

It was good to see Yugi reacting this way, though. Ever since the… incident… the boy had been distant and withdrawing, preferring not seeing anyone and just to conceal himself in his room. He hadn't spoken much about what had happened, either. He just avoided the whole thing and everything else along with it. But now he was acting somewhat normally, and if it took a date with male five years his senior then it was fine with Sugoroku.

"So, do Mokuba and Seto know about this date of yours?" the old storekeeper asked as Yugi glanced at the clock once again.

"It's not a date, we're just going have a dinner and a talk," Yugi answered. He sighed and rubbed his neck. "And no, I didn't tell them. Well, they know I've been at least planning contacting Atemu, but they don't know that I already have or that I'm seeing him tonight. I didn't want them knowing because they've been kind of overprotective lately. You sure that this shirt is good?"

"The shirt is fine," Sugoroku chuckled, though couldn't help but frown at the way Yugi was speaking. The teen had explained that his stutter and shyness had been mostly caused by the chemical imbalance in is brain, but it was still pretty hard to believe that the boy who had stuttered and shied away from all contact for the last six years was so… casual. Whilst it was good that Yugi didn't jump at the sight of his own shadow anymore, it was still unnerving. Especially as now, unlike before, Yugi didn't hide things. It had been rather unsettling to learn that Yugi could understand every language human kind spoke.

"And trust me, it's a date. It's Friday evening, he's picking you up to take you to dinner and you're nervous wreck not to mention uncertain about your clothing. What else could it be than a date?" The old man chuckled, shaking his thoughts away. "And believe me; your clothing doesn't really matter. It's you who's going out with him, not your clothing."

"I'm not… it's not… it's just a business meeting," Yugi murmured, now blushing a little. He scratched his cheek embarrassedly and looked at him uncertainly. "B-but if it was… you'd really be okay about that? I mean… um… Atemu is a _guy_ after all."

"Of course I'd be okay with it," Sugoroku smiled gently. "I know you well enough to know that he can't be that bad. If he was you wouldn't be interested."

"I'm just… it's just his lyrics, and, uh… he did save me,"

Now there was the Yugi Sugoroku knew. The old man's smile widened slightly and he chuckled warmly. "Sure. Either way, I hope you have fun tonight. No alcohol, drugs or sex, though, you're not only entirely too young for that but also still fresh from hospital. Not to mention that it's plain sluttish to do that kind of thing on the first date."

Yugi just stared at him with blushed face, too stunned to even say anything. Before the teen could even sputter in outrage or Sugoroku could embarrass him further, the old man heard car drive to the yard. He motioned towards the window so that still pretty deaf Yugi would know that he had heard something. Making a startled sound, Yugi rushed to the window and eeped at the sight of expensive sport car.

"You better go," Sugoroku nodded towards the doorway leading to the side-door as the car's horn was honked. Yugi nodded with a slight blush and hurried to get his jacked. The shopkeeper chuckled as the teen rushed out of the house. "Yeah, it's a date," he mused to himself and continued to work with the cello.

Outside Yugi shyly approached the car, his steps faltering a little as the driver's door was opened and the otherworldly supermodel stepped out. The first time Yugi had seen the man he had only been interested about three things; whether the man was a threat or in his way and should he shoot the man or not. Back then he hadn't paid much attention to the way Atemu looked, but now…

The photographs were gorgeous, each and every of the many pictures Yugi had were more beautiful than the others before, making him always wonder if anyone really could have that kind of beauty about them… But now that he saw Atemu in person and without drugs hazing his mind he realised that the photographs failed to do the man justice.

How long they stared at each other Yugi didn't know before the stillness was broken by the model who smiled to hum hesitantly. "Shall we go?" Atemu asked. Reading the words from the man's lips, Yugi nodded and approached the car again, wondering to himself what kind of voice Atemu had.

The car was just as luxurious and expensive looking from the inside as it was from the outside. The stereo system alone looked like something out of another world - or the future. Even though Yugi knew that he was on his way to becoming millionaire - he didn't use the money nor manage it but he did know how much he had - he felt out of place in the expensive vehicle.

"I reserved us a table in Blue Moon, there we can talk without having to worry about reporters and such," Atemu said while starting the car again. Yugi looked at him carefully while the car smoothly drove back to the street. He didn't know what Blue Moon was, but was too embarrassed to ask. Atemu seemed to realise his problem. "Blue Moon, it is a restaurant down town. They serve good food and allow their customers have their privacy."

Probably a high class restaurant. Yugi nodded quietly, not really knowing what to say to this… gorgeous man who had written the words he so loved. Writing the letters had been hard enough, but this was like some kind of bittersweet torture. He felt like he was in the presence of angel and he was too shy to say a word. Not to mention unable to hear the angel's voice.

The silence that hung in the car in the way between the music store and the restaurant was awkward in strangely pleasant way. It wasn't the kind of uncomfortable silence that made one want to be somewhere elsewhere, but the kind of silence that had anticipation and strange excitement in it. At least for Yugi it felt like that, like the very air as charged with odd enthusiasm.

"We're here," Atemu smiled somewhat hesitantly while pulling his car easily to the parking lot. Yugi nodded, glancing at the man who stood up from the car first. The model made a hesitant step as if almost coming to open the car door for Yugi. The musician blushed little at the thought of being treated that way and quickly stood up, closing the car door and feeling the tingle of electricity run through the fine metal as Atemu locked the doors with the remote.

The Blue Moon was a high class restaurant, the kind of place you got into only if you had reservations and whole lot of money. There were people at the door to take their jackets, another near by to inquire about the reservations and near by Yugi saw few larger men looming, ready to throw out any unwanted guests. Inside the Blue Moon was beautiful, walls, floor and ceiling shaded with night-blue. There were good twenty carefully made tables in the main room along with separate part for very stylish looking bar where some men and women in stylish clothing were having drinks.

The waitress guided them to the table in the corner near the window. After they had taken seat, she handed them menus and asked for what they would drink. Atemu asked mineral water, which was more than fine by Yugi as he scanned through the list of peculiar foreign names. Without his GP background he probably wouldn't have understood any of them.

"I hope that my choice of restaurant suits you," Atemu spoke carefully while folding his menu away, already knowing what he was going to order.

Yugi smiled shyly. "I have to admit, it's a bit classier than I'm adjusted to," he said with a slight nod while glancing around the room. "But I guess I could get used to this kind of thing. Some day."

"You haven't dined in this kind of place before?" the model looked surprised.

"I haven't dined in any restaurant before, actually," Yugi smiled embarrassedly. "Never really had the reason to."

Atemu smiled amusedly. "I guess I'm your first then, in two things."

Yugi blushed but couldn't help the light chuckle. "Three actually. You were he first to make me even consider putting lyrics into my songs."

"I'm honoured," the model smirked and looked up as the waitress approached to take their orders after they had ordered, they were silent for a while, Atemu examining the teen with his eyes while Yugi tilted his head bit to the side, awaiting him to speak first. "So," the model spoke while taking his water glass to his hands. "That late night show performance… You were calling me out before the whole Pegasus incident happened, weren't you?"

Yugi looked surprised for a moment, before smiling. "Yes, I was," he shrugged, leaning back a little. "Originally… well. You sent the lyrics, I fell in love with them, and Seto got Yami to sing them. Our union turned out to be even more popular than we expected, so Seto and Bakura started to plan how far they could take it, how much profit they could make… Because of my hearing problems back then concerts and such were out of picture, so… they started to plan making music video for the _Puzzle_."

"They argued about it one day, and then when they couldn't make their minds Mokuba asked me what kind of video I wanted. I said I wanted them to ask that question from the person who wrote the lyrics - you," Yugi smiled. "I guess I was a bit selfish with that, I wanted to meet you. They didn't like the idea, but Bakura liked the plan with which we planned to call you out. Yami and I performed in that late night show and… well you know what happened," he shrugged. "When I realised that it was you who wrote the lyrics I guess I just couldn't let it go. You had passed me by so I had to chase after you, couldn't let it go."

"Because you found out it was _me_…" the model frowned a little.

"You as in the supermodel? No," Yugi chuckled. "I don't really care about that, I don't care that you are criminal lord, I don't care that you are the GPbase, it doesn't matter. You're my song writer. I care about that. Even if you had been some bum from the streets with his face scarred and no money or fame to speak of, I still would've chased after you."

Atemu smiled hesitantly before lowering his eyes with slightest blush on his tanned skin. "You do realise how much that sounds like confession of love?" he asked, looking half amused and half flattered.

"I love the lyrics," Yugi smiled and shrugged. "I love the thought and the emotion behind lyrics. So I guess I love your mind, the beautiful soul which wrote the lyrics."

The model smiled with strangely bright eyes and for a moment Yugi swore he saw strange but strong glint of happiness in the man's blood red eyes. Before neither could speak further, their food was brought to them, breaking the moment.

"Though, I'm not a criminal lord," Atemu said as an after thought.

"You're not?" Yugi frowned in thought. "I thought TK said…"

"Yes, well, I am the heir of a criminal organisation, which I did lead in the past, but at the moment I'm nothing but a model," the man mused while biting into his food with fork and knife. "My cousin Seth and TK are trying to make me return to the Royal Family, but I'm still not sure…" the model sighed with a little frown.

Yugi looked at him curiously. "Why did you leave that world?" he asked then, tilting his head bit to the side. "Why did you become a model?"

"I… I guess I got tired of it," Atemu shrugged. "Tired of people fearing me for what I stood for, for the power I wielded. Tired of wielding that power. Tired of people fawning me because they couldn't risk angering me. Occasionally I did like the excitement, gods I loved the excitement, but the rest…"

"I became a model and a dancer because I felt that it was what I am," he had a faraway look on his crimson eyes. "It was my power that did not include gun or blood, my own power that had nothing to do with the Royal Family. I thought that as a model I could be… myself." He sighed and shook his head. "But that didn't turn out the way I hoped it to. I'm not the power I wield anymore, now I'm the face I was given and the fame I gained."

Yugi looked at him steadily for a moment. "Made of blood or diamonds, the high pedestal is still a lonely one, huh?" he murmured. "And looking down from there you can't see if the people around you are true or false."

Atemu looked almost shocked for a moment. "I… I guess so," he then murmured before concentrating to his food for a while. Then he lowered his utensils, looking up to Yugi with a frown. "What about you? Why did you become musician?"

"Why?" Yugi looked surprised. "I don't actually know. I know how, but why… hmm…" he thought about it for a while. "I've been playing for over eight years now. I think I originally started to play because piano reminded me of computer. You had keys and you got the response to what you did immediately. It was fun way to pass time…"

"Then I was kidnapped when I was ten years old, my mind was altered with chemicals and I turned into fearful boy who was afraid of his own shadow," Yugi looked away smiling sadly at the memory. "Not to mention that everything hurt my ears suddenly. Music became my sanctuary. Single instrument, single melody… it calmed me. It allowed me to be myself for a moment, allowed me to be unafraid."

"There was never a why there, it just happened. Mokuba discovered me accidentally when scouting group of girls in my school, and Seto half stole me from my school," the teen smiled at the memory. "He gave me the chance to enclose myself in my sanctuary for as long as I wanted, in a strange way he gave me freedom of being just myself. That is why I play."

"Freedom of being yourself," Atemu whispered. He smiled hollowly. "That's a beautiful fantasy."

Yugi looked at him, blinking at the expression on the man's face. "Don't do that," he then said. "Don't smile if you don't want to."

"It's expected," Atemu said with a shrug. "That's what model does, he smiles to the camera." The way he said it indicated that he had said it many times before.

"I'm not a camera, I don't expect anything of that sort from you," Yugi shrugged easily. "You don't have to be beautiful. I know you are in the inside, that's all that matters."

The model looked at him for a moment with almost desperate expression on his face. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Say exactly the things I need to hear."

"I don't know," Yugi smile warmly, carelessly. He couldn't really explain it. He just knew and the words came out automatically. It felt strangely like he had known the man all his life and knew from experience what to say to him. "Will you do it?" he asked carefully. "Just be yourself around me without those fake expressions?"

The model was quiet for a moment before nodding without a smile. "I'll try."

"Thank you," Yugi smiled again. There was a short silence in which they just concentrated onto their food, before Yugi broke the silence again. "What would you think about it anyway, about helping us make the music video for the _Puzzle_?"

"I… don't really know," Atemu frowned a little. "I've never done anything like that. What exactly would I have to do?"

"I don't know," the teen shrugged. "I guess… well, if the _Puzzle_ had an image, what would it look like? If it was a movie, if… how would the words you wrote translate into pictures? I thought of ancient Egypt, the old temple filled cities and the dunes when I created it... that was the mental image I tried to play out…"

Atemu looked at his food for a moment before looking up. "I thought of the young pharaoh who sacrificed himself for his people," he murmured. "The last bearer of the Sennen Puzzle. How he grew up, how he inherited the throne and how he died…" he shook his head amusedly. "Pharaoh Atem."

Yugi smiled amusedly before getting an idea. He narrowed his eyes in thought, leaning back a little. "Hey, Atemu… Do you think of anyone when you think listen to the _Rod_?" he asked thoughtfully, stretching the words a little while thinking about it, imaging Atemu as the pharaoh Atem.

Atemu looked at him with surprised eyes before turning thoughtful. He leaned back as well, lowering his fork and knife also. "Seth," he spoke thoughtfully. "I think I know what you are thinking about… interesting idea indeed. When each song represent the holders of the Sennen items, why not make the music videos tell a tale of them as well? The pharaoh and, the high priests… yes. I think I'm going to help you with the music video."

Yugi smiled to him widely before turning a bit shy. "Then… I guess we need to talk about this more?" he asked carefully. "I mean… these things need a lot of planning, don't they?"

Atemu turned his eyes to him and smiled hesitantly. "Oh yes, lot of planning. What are you doing next Tuesday?"

They talked until their food ran out, until most of the other customers left, until it started to get rather dark outside. They spoke of everything from the upcoming video to Yugi's other music, from Atemu's childhood as the heir of the Royal Family to Yugi's childhood as the adopted grandson of Mutô Sugoroku… from anything to everything until finally the waitress came to tell them that the restaurant was closing.

To Yugi's embarrassed pleasure, Atemu gave into his gentlemanly tendencies now that the awkwardness was gone. The man paid the bill, helped Yugi to put his jacket and he didn't only open to door for Yugi when they were leaving the restaurant building, but he opened the car door as well. When the car ride was over and they were at the musicstore the model opened the door to Yugi again - he even led him to the door.

"I shall await our next engagement eagerly," the model said to the petite musician. He placed a single gentle kiss to the teen's cheek before turning and returning to his car, leaving blushing Yugi to the doorsteps. Raising his hand to his cheek, Yugi watched the sport car drive away with a silly smile dangling on his lips.

"So?" Sugoroku asked amusedly once still red Yugi had stepped inside.

"Yeah, it was a date," Yugi admitted and gave in, squealing out loud happily.

---

So there will be Seth/Seto and Ryô/Bakura/TK at some point, but let's concentrate onto the main characters for now... I am not going to desert Yugi/Atemu/Yami, oooh no, nevah! So no need to worry about that...

Sorry about the possible typos and such and thank you all for your review :)


	16. XV Chapter

**XV chapter**

Month now. It had been month since the whole kidnapping incident, month since his ears had been crushed, month since he had met Atemu and TK and month… since he had started using the inhibitor protein. Unlike before, this time the protein didn't stick and he needed to insert it into his vein once a week, but that had been small price to pay for being see, taste, smell and feel normally.

Month. Yugi sighed while running his fingers over the polished wood of his cello. In that month he had been away from work so that he could heal his ears. In that month he had been seeing Atemu nearly every other day. Sometimes they had talked about the upcoming videos, sometimes they talked about nothing irrelevant, most of the time they talked about each other. In that month he had been patiently waiting for the time he could hear again.

Month. Month of healing and using the inhibitor. "It wasn't supposed to turn out like this," he muttered to himself, before running his hand through his hair. Then, remembering a time when Atemu had expressed his wish to one day be able to listen Yugi to play - not through radio but while being in the same room with him, Yugi picked the bow again. Taking a firm hold of it to stop his hand from shaking, he moved the cello into more comfortable place between his knees. Then, with a sigh to calm his nerves, he started to play…

… and it sounded horrible. He couldn't find the pitch, the strings were resonating strangely, the bow made a whine here and there, the cello felt just strange and foreign in his hands… and he couldn't make it better no matter how it tried. It was horrible, and it wasn't just with cello, it was with every instrument. He could still play, the notes did come out right way, it still sounded like music… but it wasn't _his_ music.

"I can't feel you anymore," Yugi murmured while resting his cheek against the smooth neck of the cello. "You don't feel like you're part of me anymore. You're just inanimate object in my hands, made for music… it's not right. But what exactly is wrong?"

Was it his ears? With the inhibitor, he had lost his multilevel hearing, he couldn't hear things so sharply and in hat layered way he was adjusted to… but he had thought that it would have nothing to do with the music. He thought that music came from his hands, but apparently he had been wrong. He needed his ears back, yet…

He turned his eyes towards the small case in his desk. Inside that case there were many small phials and injection needle. The key to his normalcy, to being able to sense things normally. It kept him sane, yet it ruined his hearing. It ruined his music. "If I stop using it, I will be able to play again, but…" he groaned miserably while pushing the cello away and pulling his knees against his chest. "…I'll be oversensitive again."

Burying his face into the fabric of his pants, he sighed heavily. He missed his music, and he knew that he needed it - if he didn't have it, Seto, Mokuba, Yami, Bakura, Ryô… and Atemu… none of them wouldn't bother with him. What use was he if he didn't have the music? But as important as _that_ was, he… he wanted his music back. It was his solace, his sanctuary, his first friend.

"I want my music back," he muttered and looked up, glaring a bit at the case holding his drug. "But how can I get it back without becoming over sensitive?"

Tapping his foot with his fingers, he let his eyes wander over his room. Most people of his age had shelves in their room, filled with books and personal items, most teens had posters… he had neither. He had instrument racks and instruments. Seto had bought them all for him. Cellos, guitars, violins, flutes, piano… just the sight of them made him smile. And they were just practice instruments, the ones he used when recording were in Mokuba's recording studio.

And he couldn't play any of them properly anymore. Yugi's smile turned into frown and he bit his lip. Being unable to play… he wouldn't be able to bear that, not now and not ever. Something needed to be done. Something needed to be done… to the inhibitor protein.

Then it came to him.

Swiftly standing up, Yugi left his room and headed outside. Grandpa was in the store again, so he didn't need to bother with greetings, he just walked to the phone and quickly dialled the number Seto had given him. After patiently waiting, he was rewarded by sound of his boss' voice. "Seto here," the president answered simply, as it was his personal phone and wasn't used in the company businesses.

"Seto, it's Yugi," the young artist said half worriedly half nervously.

"Oh, Yugi!" the president sounded strangely… relieved. "Right, it has been a month. Please tell me you're ready for working again."

"Ah…" Yugi bit his lower lip. "Is Mokuba there?" he asked.

"No, but I can connect to him if you want me to," now the man sounded confused.

"No, no. I just want to talk to you privately," Yugi said with a sigh. "There has been a… complication. I'm all healed now, but because of the protein I can't… hear like I could and because of that, the music…"

"Don't tell me…" Seto sounded worried now.

"It doesn't sound the same," Yugi closed his eyes with a sigh. "But there is a way… I may be able to… do you still have the minidisk I gave you, the one in which the formula for the protein was?"

"Yes, I do. I have it in my desk," Seto sounded curious. "Do you want it back?"

"Yes. And I… I need a week and access to a laboratory which is equipped enough to make the protein," Yugi frowned. "It's a bit of a gamble, but if I stop using the protein for a while, I get back the GP-worthy-edge and may be able to recreate the protein in a way which will allow me to hear like I did back then… before all this," Yugi sighed. "Do you think --?"

"Anything you need, I'll get it for you," Seto said sternly. "When do you need the laboratory?"

"In a week. I need to wait out a bit for the last dose of the inhibitor to fully clear away," Yugi sighed. "Thank you, Seto."

"Well, you're my star Yugi. I need you back working," Yugi could hear the president's smirk. "Besides, Mokuba misses you and Yami is getting _very_ annoying. And so is Bakura."

Yugi chuckled. "Thank you," he said softly. "I'll call you again in a week, when I'll need the laboratory and the disk. And please… don't tell anyone about this? Mokuba, Yami, Ryô… I don't want them to worry."

"Alright," Seto agreed and cut the line. Yugi smiled with a smile and hung the phone as well. With a sigh he headed back up to his room and hoped that it would work out. That he would be able to make it work.

-

Atemu glanced at the petite artist who was staring out of the car's window with distant look about his brilliant violet eyes. There was a smallest hint of frown at Yugi's brow, and he was sighing now and then. He was zoning out, which was rather out of character for the teen who usually smiled and paid attention to everything. "Is something wrong, Yugi?" the model asked.

Snapping out of his haze, Yugi turned to him. "No, I'm just thinking," looking out of the window again, the teen smiled a small smile. "I'm to return to work next week. I guess I feel a bit anxious about it, after being away from there for full month."

Atemu nodded. "I can understand that," he said while reaching for Yugi's hand. "Have you let them know about the plans we've met yet?"

"No," the teen shook his head while entwining his pale fingers to Atemu's long, tanned ones. He smiled gently while rubbing Atemu's thumb with his. "I guess I want it to be a surprise, sort of coming-back-to-work gift."

"Aren't your co-workers supposed to give a gift to you, and not other way around?" Atemu asked amusedly.

"Maybe, but I want to give them something back after being away for so long. I'm not that stupid, I know that without me there they can't work with Dark Game at all - sure they could have Yami sing to the recorded music, but I doubt they will. It doesn't sound the same unless we're both there, and Mokuba knows that," he smiled sadly. "I want to make up for my absence by telling them our plans - I'm sure they will like them."

"Hm.. one can hope," Atemu mused before pulling Yugi's hand gently until he could reach to lay a gentle kiss to the teen's knuckles. "Are you going tell them about us?"

"I don't see why and I don't see why not. I suppose they will find out eventually, if our team-work will play out as we wish it will," Yugi's eyes turned gentle as he watched the tanned model. "You're really pretty today, Atemu," he said out of the blue.

"Ah," Atemu glanced at him with surprise. Pretty? He hadn't bothered to shower that morning, his clothing was ruffled because he had nearly missed their appointment, his hair was a mess and he hadn't smiled once. Pretty? Really? "What makes you say that?" he asked with confusion.

"I don't know. You're more like yourself than you usually are," Yugi said while leaning comfortably against the back rest of his seat, leaning his cheek against it as well. After looking at the man for a moment, he closed his eyes with a content expression in his face. "Where are we going today?"

"Concert," Atemu turned to look at the road again. "I thought it would be a good way to celebrate your healing, going to see orchestra. They're going to play various classical pieces… I hope you don't mind."

Yugi frowned a little before smiling, not opening his eyes, "It's fine. I've never seen orchestra live, it might be interesting."

"I hope so," Atemu agreed, kissing his knuckles again before releasing his hand. "And… I hope you don't mind, but we're going to visit a clothing store first. We need some better clothing - it's a… fancy concert as you would put it. They require certain kind of clothing."

Yugi blinked his eyes open. "But… I didn't bring any money!"

"I'll pay for you, don't worry," Atemu smirked a little. "You know well enough that I have enough money to pay for it."

"I'll pay back!" Yugi said hurriedly. "I don't want you to waste your money for me --"

"It's not waste, complete opposite actually. I will not allow you to pay back," Atemu shook his head. "Besides, it's just picket cash. Nothing to it."

The suit was expensive. Very expensive. More expensive than some of Yugi's instruments. It looked very nice though, and no matter how Yugi tried Atemu didn't relent to letting him pay back. Finally defeated, Yugi followed Atemu back to the car - both gathering some looks from passers by, thanks to the fact that both were dressed into expensive suits.

"I don't think I've ever worn something like this," Yugi murmured while adjusting the bow at the collar. "Is it alright if I'm very uncomfortable?"

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable," Atemu frowned a little. "But I do want you to see the orchestra, so… please endure it for me?"

Yugi smiled. "I will."

Soon they came to the concert hall, where Atemu acted like complete gentle man, opening the car door for Yugi and offering his arm to the teen. Yugi took it gladly, eve though it caused the other viewers still in the front of the hall to look at them strangely. Ignoring the looks they were getting, Atemu led Yugi inside where they were promptly guided to their seats. "I shouldn't be surprised that you have private seats," Yugi murmured with a smile while they sat down. "Oh, it's a great view from here," he murmured while looking down to the hall below them - to the many seats and to where the orchestra was already sitting.

"You hear well from here too. This place has excellent acoustics," Atemu nodded as well while looking through the leaflet of the upcoming performance. Then he placed it away. "Surprisingly I don't really care what they're playing this night," he murmured. "Names don't mean that much to me."

Yugi smiled and looks down again. Down the hall filled with people, until it was full to the brink. "I didn't know orchestras were this popular," the young artist murmured.

"They would be more popular… if they had concert halls big enough to hold that many people," Atemu smiled. "Well, there is the Tomb, but it' insane expensive trying to perform there - unless the Ishtals ask you, there is no way you can book the place with anything less that over seven-digit number."

"They asked us," Yugi murmured thoughtfully. "Me and Yami, they asked us. As payment for, well… rescuing me."

"I know," Atemu nodded with a sharp glance towards him. "Are you going to do it?"

"Probably," Yugi shrugged. "It's a great opportunity which I doubt will present itself again. Seto at least has been quite excited about it - Mokuba too, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Millennium Item was also. Seto and Bakura might even go as far as making it my first stage performance - it sounds just like something Bakura would like."

"Hmm…" Atemu looked at him thoughtfully. "Bakura and Ryô… they're kind of like TK then?"

"Well, not Ryô. Ryô is calm and gentle, but Bakura is… _outrageous bastard_ quoting Ryô's words," Yugi chuckled. "When Dark Game was in makes, he wanted seventy percent of the profits. He and Seto had such a screaming match that we others ran away." He tilted his head to the side with awkward smile. "And then there is the fact that Bakura apparently carries a gun - he married Ryô while having the priest at gunpoint. Seto carries gun too, but Seto is kind of paranoid… but then again when Yami is constantly breaking through his security systems…"

Looking at the artist with now solemn expression, the model folded his hands. "You like your co-workers."

"Yes," Yugi agreed. "They're my first friends. Before Mokuba scouted me, I didn't have anyone like them."

Atemu was quiet for a while before tilting his head with half smirk. "What about me?" he asked in a tone which made the question half joke.

"You're here," Yugi patted his chest over his heart. "And don't do that. You're trying to make that face again, speak in that tone… don't do it. Be your self."

"I'm sorry," the model's smirk faded and he shook his head. "Old habits are hard to get rid off."

"You should need those habits anyway," Yugi sighed and quieted down along with the rest of the concert hall. Then there was clapping as the conductor walked to the stage. Atemu's eyes softened as he watched Yugi lean forward with anticipation. _You're in my heart too, Yugi_, he thought and turned his eyes to the concert.

-

The concert left Yugi shaken. Thanks to the inhibitor protein still remaining in his system, he had been able to listen to the concert without any difficulties, but because the protein was fading he had also been able to hear it more clearly than probably anyone else in the hall. And it had been… amazing. After being unable to listen to anything like that for so long, hearing a full orchestra concert was simply mind blowing.

They said that he could alone play like full band. After witnessing a concerto like that, he found himself feeling so very small - and strangely hopeful. How amazing would it be, if he could take the lead's place in a concert like that? Or play a solo with violin, piano, oboe, flute, cello… something? It made him finally realise why Seto wanted to add orchestra to his music. Even as such his music was good, but if he could get an orchestra… it would be godly.

However wishing to be able to play with an orchestra rouse a difficulty. If he would manage to shield his sense of hearing from the inhibitor protein like it was before, he wouldn't be able to listen to any orchestra without having his ears shot to pieces again - and this time there would be no mad scientist to fix them. So… he didn't only need to modify the protein. He needed to remake it in completely new and more complicated form.

But as the protein in his system faded more and more, he began to see a way. His senses weren't only thing held back by the protein, as the drug faded it also released the chemicals in his brain which resulted enormous rise of intelligence. It wasn't like Yugi wasn't intelligent with the protein, it was just that the most analytical and logical part of his brain was held by - and when it wasn't… his brain worked with the speed and precision of super computer.

"Seto," Yugi finally called when he deemed his state good enough. His fingers were twitching at his side, itching to get to work. "I'm ready and I need to get working now."

"I'll come to pick you up," Seto answered instantly. "We'll be heading to the laboratory immediately after."

"Thank you," Yugi said and hang up before going to get his coat. "Grandpa, I'm going out," he said. "I may or may not come home today, but I should be at least able to call you tomorrow."

"Are you going out with Atemu again?" The old storekeeper asked slyly.

"No, this is work related. I'm going with Seto," Yugi said and stepped to the living room to wait. It didn't take long for Seto's pure white car with blue headlights to pull to the yard. "I'm going now, bye!" Yugi called and headed out. Soon he was seated in his employer's car, as the said employer drove out of the yard and to the road.

"Are you alright?" Seto asked at the sight of the hard look in his eyes and concentrated expression on his face. "You're sweating."

"It's… taxing to be like this," Yugi murmured while fighting down the urge to get analytical about everything. His minded wanted to process silliest things like the speed of the car, the angle and reach of the head lights, how far the lights travelled when the speed of light was added to the speed of the car, what was the exact angle of his seat's back rest… and then there was the fact that he could sense everything - entire structure of the vehicle, each and every of the millions vibrations and currents of the car, the road underneath the car's wheels, he could smell and feel Seto's breath, and of course, hear everything - even the accursed radio waves.

"The only flaw in me is the fact that human's conscious mind cannot exactly handle the information load I'm experiencing now," Yugi grimaced. "It's like putting overly large hard drive into a computer with tiny processor. No matter how much knowledge there is in the hard drive, the processor can only take so much."

"I see." Seto frowned darkly. "Can you handle it?"

"I could with Pegasus, and I can now - especially since I don't have any additional drugs in me this time," Yugi smirked. "Just… I want to be quick and get back to normal."

"And how long will you need in the laboratory?"

"All day, maybe the night too," Yugi took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I hope to be done by tomorrow."

"Good," Seto nodded, and drove the car deeper into the Domino City's central.

---

Hoo... it has been a while hasn't it? Iight now I'm so ashamed that I don't have much to say - except huge apology for the wait, another for the grammar and typing errors, past and present, and of course, big thank-you for all your reviews. They were enough to remaind me that this story too needs an ending.


	17. XVI Chapter

**XVI chapter**

"That was possibly the most frightening night of my life," Seto muttered to himself while watching Yugi. The petite artist was rolling his own sleeve up to reveal the crook of his elbow. Then Yugi quickly tied a strap around his bicep to control the blood flow. After that he took the injection needle he had readied and easily, with unnatural skill injected himself with the drug he had just spent entire day and night creating.

It truly had been creepy watch Yugi work. Sure, Seto had known before that the young musical genius was indeed a genius of unholy levels, but actually witnessing it had been different. Speed Yugi demonstrated with a piano had nothing on the speed he used when working with a computer - heck, the computer was the current best model of the entire world and Yugi had nearly managed to crash it with the speed of his fingers. And if that wasn't frightening enough, then the chemistry certainly was - and Yugi hadn't ever even studied chemistry seriously.

Yugi hissed slightly while pulling the needle of his arm. "Hopefully that will do it," the young artist muttered while freeing the strap and flexing his hand. Then he leaned back with a sigh. "It'll take about hour or two for it to work. If it works the way it's supposed to work, that is."

Seto nodded, brushing his hand through his hair. "Do you need to take weekly shots of this one, or…"

"No, it's all or nothing with this one," the petite musician said, looking at the needle. "This version of the protein will lock my brain chemistry. If it works, then it works, if it doesn't… it never will." He shook his head with slight smile. "This wasn't your usual medicine, you know."

"And if it doesn't and… what will the drug do if it doesn't do what you want it to?" the producer asked carefully.

"It will make me a normal human," Yugi shrugged. "And the superhuman abilities I had will be forever lost. My only hope is that it effect will be looser on the hearing bit and allow me to have the abilities I had before. If I'll get to keep even half of the hearing…"

The elder male nodded. "I guess all we can do now is wait and see, then?"

Yugi hummed in agreement. "Though here I can't exactly test it," he said while turning to the computer and starting to delete the work he had done during the last day and night. Smothering a yawn, he pressed many keys at the same time which launched the thorough deleting. "I need an instrument to see for sure if the protein had the effect I was going for."

"We'll go to the office, Mokuba's studio is the best place for the testing," Seto nodded before looking at the artist worriedly as Yugi sharply shook his head - not as negative answer but as if to clear his head. "Is something wrong?"

"The protein is starting to take effect, my sight is getting blurrier," Yugi murmured, rubbing his hand over his eyes before standing up. Quickly he gathered all the evidence from the laboratory - the disk, the needle he had used, and small phial where he had another dose of the protein. Everything else he had thoroughly washed before. "I'm ready to go."

"Let's go," the producer nodded before leading his star towards the door. Once they got outside he breathed lot easier. The chemicals of the borrowed laboratory had been bothering ever since they had gotten to the place. He didn't even want to know how they had smelled to Yugi, who had much more sensitive sense of smell than he had.

Quickly they got to Seto's car, to it and then in it out of the laboratory's parking lot. "I'd take you to eat something, since you haven't eaten anything in about twenty four hours, but you can eat at the Glass Box," the producer said while speeding towards the office. "After you have eaten, we'll head to Mokuba's studio."

"Sounds like plan to me," Yugi nodded, leaning back in the seat and glancing around in the car. He smiled a little at something, catching the producer's attention. Formerly Yugi had smiled so rarely that now it caught everyone's attention every time he did.

"Is something funny?" Seto asked sharply.

Yugi shrugged. "Month ago being in car like this would've turned me into nervous wreck," he mused. "It's much nicer than grandpa's car… but with Atemu I got used to them."

"With who?" the producer snapped his eyes to the petite artist.

"Atemu. Pharaoh Atemu. I've been seeing him in the last month. I told you I would contact him, didn't I?" Yugi asked calmly, not least bit startled by the sharp tone or the frown in the elder male's face. "I sent him a letter, he answered and so forth. Eventually we went out into dinner," he looked out of the window. "He has promised to make lyrics to my other songs - and we've drafted a lot of plans for the music videos. He has even started writing the script for the Puzzle video," the petite artist glanced at his producer. "And I really like the plans."

"I guess I don't have much saying to that, huh? Either I'll make the videos or you will leave and you and Pharaoh will make them on your own…" Seto frowned before smiling a little. "You were easier to control when you were stuttering nervous wreck, but I like this new confident side of you."

Yugi chuckled, closing his eyes for a moment before rubbing them again. "It's a bit weird though. Sometimes I don't feel like myself," he mused more to himself than to the producer. "Like it's my body that's moving and my mouth that is speaking, but it's not me who's in control. I was shy for so long… but I can't go back to that either. I can't get rid of the assurance I now have. The chemical imbalance doesn't make me fear anymore and since I know I have nothing to fear really… I don't." he sighed. "Atemu doesn't see it because he has only known me like this, but you and others see it. I do too… and I will probably take the longest to get adjusted to it."

"Atemu, huh?" Seto gave him a curious look. "You two must've gotten pretty close for you to use his first name."

"I spill my heart to you and all you care is about my relationships?" Yugi glanced at the man and smiled. "It's true what they say. You are a bastard."

The producer shot a surprised look at the youth before smiling. "Definitely getting some backbone," he murmured and drove to the Kaiba Record's parking hall. After shutting the engine down, the producer started to get up from the car. Yugi sat up too, taking the packet which had the evidence of his nightly chemistry. After Seto had locked the car, they headed to the elevator where the producer quickly went through the security system to open the elevator. Then they went straight up to the large cafeteria.

There Yugi glanced around, brushing his hand through his messy hair. "I've missed this place a little," he mused as they made their way to the counter. While he took himself a cup of hot chocolate and chocolate pastry, Seto took a tray, cup of black coffee and plate loaded it with food. And once they had gotten to the table, he dropped the tray before Yugi.

"Eat," the producer ordered. "After staying awake entire night and working through twenty four hours straight, you need more than chocolate."

"I like chocolate," Yugi pouted a little but took the eating utensils and begun eating. He was pretty hungry.

"Chocolate alone won't keep you living," the producer shook his head before leaning back and taking the coffee cup from the tray. "So what have you and Pharaoh been planning?"

Yugi swallowed the food in his mouth with slightest grimace. "With taste-buds this sensitive, eating is a nightmare," he murmured before looking up. "You know how the seven pieces I made up came from ancient Egyptian myth? Atemu knows it better than I do, he wrote the lyrics to the individual stories," he said, gathering more food to his fork. "We were thinking about making the music videos mini movies of the stories. The _Puzzle_ tells story about the pharaoh who carried, the _Rod_ tells about the high priest, the _Ring_ tells story about the thief…"

"Pharaoh, high priest and thief, huh?" Seto's eyes narrowed. "Why do I suddenly have a chill running down my back?"

Yugi smiled a little. "Atemu would be the main character of the puzzle's video. Priest Seth and TK already agreed to star in the other videos - and we're thinking about having Atemu's manager work along with TK in the _Ring_ Video… we don't know about the rest of the songs yet, but I'd want grandpa to be in at least one of them, even if only fleetingly."

"Well, I have nothing against having Pharaoh and Priest starring in the videos, they will only boost the sales but having a criminal in one of them…" the producer grimaced before turning thoughtful. "Though with little bit of work our make-up artists could make him look different enough… hmm… What is TK's real name anyway?"

"Touzoku Kokuou," Yugi giggled a bit. "He named himself, according to Atemu."

"Go figure," Seto rolled his eyes to the ceiling before sighing. "I'll need to think about it. And I want to go through whatever material you've made. And probably talk with Pharaoh since he apparently will be the script writer…"

Yugi nodded. "I'll let him know. He has most of the material so he can bring it over." When the producer didn't seem to have other questions, Yugi continued to eat. After he had eaten as much as he could, he finished his breakfast with the chocolate pastry and now cold cup of cacao.

"Has the protein taken effect yet?" the producer asked as Yugi drained last of the cacao.

"Not completely, my taste is still too accurate and so is my sense of smell and touch. You badly need a bath, by the way, and so do I," the petite artist answered with a smile while piling the dishes to the tray. "But I'd like to head to the studio. This might be the last time I can feel an instrument so…"

The producer nodded and sat up. "Let's go."

They headed some floors down to Mokuba's empty studio. Seto headed to the recording room while Yugi made his way to the isolation box. After moment of looking around in the comfortably familiar room, Yugi made his way to the piano. Almost by themselves, his hands turned the microphone on. "Are you going to record?" he asked to the microphone, glancing to the studio where Seto was quickly bringing the equipment online.

"Yeah, I will," the man said with a frown. "Damn, Mokuba has let this place get dusty. He hasn't done any proper work while you've been in sick leave."

Yugi smiled a little before turning his eyes to the piano. "I'll flex my fingers a bit," he said, and ran his fingers over the keys. Then he begun playing mindlessly, letting his fingertips find the keys on their own. As the flowing music begun to rise from the instrument, his eyes closed with near bliss. He hadn't dared to touch anything that made sound during the time he had been deaf and after he had healed he had only played for long enough to realise that something was wrong. Now… now music felt right again.

Tilting his head to the side, Yugi smiled. The piano felt like it was part of him. Not just instrument made by human hands, but really truly part of him. He was connected to the keys and to the workings of inside through his fingertips and the instrument felt like another organ of his body, something he needed to function perfectly. And by gods, how he had missed the connection. He didn't even hear the music as he revelled in the missed feeling of wholeness. Music was back… the formerly lone comfort in his lonely world and his way of expressing his inner most was back.

After making sure he had touched every key at least once during his playing, Yugi pulled his hands back and looked up to the window separating the isolation box from the recording room. Seto was looking at him thoughtfully without really seeing him. The producer was snapped out of his thoughts by the silence. Yugi smiled a little as the man coughed to cover the slight embarrassment. "Sounds to me that you've gotten the edge back," the man said. "Are you going to play the _Key_?"

"No, I want to play something else," Yugi turned to the piano. "Piano might not be the pest instrument for it, but I want to play piano right now so I'll adapt it to it. It's something I've been thinking about for the last month or so," he ran his fingers over the keys. "It's called _The Shadow Games,_" he glanced at the producer. "Please record it."

Seto nodded and worked on the machines for a moment. "I'll give you mark, you wait for six seconds and then start playing, alright?"

"Alright," Yugi nodded and was soon given the mark. He waited for a moment, and then started playing.

The song started with a quiet melody as Yugi remembered the time before Pegasus had taken him. How it had been fun and safe to work in the Kaiba Records, how comfortable it had been. The melody turned darker as his thoughts turned to the kidnapping, to TK, to Pegasus… and then the music got twisted and violent as he remembered himself, contained in the laboratory, half insane with drugs. The bloody way it all ended; the murders he himself had committed and tried not to think about…

The music turned quiet and sad as he thought of how Atemu had saved him only to run away too soon after. Atemu had later told him that he hadn't been able to watch Yugi laying in the hospital bed, and that the model had felt like he had no right to intrude on Yugi's life more than he had…

The music turned hopeful as he remembered how he had been healing, hoping for his hearing to come back. Meeting with Atemu, finding how comfortable he felt around the man, how it felt like he had known the man since forever… Sad smile bloomed on Yugi's face. He still hadn't managed to stop Atemu from making faked expressions or making light of things the man secretly found serious. Atemu wasn't faking his smile as often as he had in the beginning, but still…

The music ended in fearful and hopeful notes as Yugi wondered if it would be the last time he would be able to play like this. _'Stay with me,'_ he thought to the music as the last note echoed in the silence. Music had been with him for eight years. He couldn't bear to lose it, even if things were better now.

After a moment of silence, he looked towards the recording booth. Seto was looking at his wrist watch. "It's been an hour," he said and looked up. "Now you need to play another hour so we'll know for sure."

Yugi beamed at the man. Seto wasn't like Mokuba, he didn't bother praising or even criticising music no matter if he liked it or not. But somehow the man managed to still know the right thing to say to calm him down. Turning to the piano again, Yugi smiled. Despite everything, Kaiba Seto wasn't a bad boss.

"I'll play something I heard a week ago," Yugi glanced at the producer. Seto nodded and Yugi begun playing something he had heard at the concert Atemu had taken him.

-

Yami ran his hand through his hair with a frown. Kaiba wasn't at his office, where Yami could usually find him. The man's secretary didn't seem to know where he was either - in fact, the man hadn't been heard or seen since yesterday. Even Mokuba didn't know where he was - and only reason the manager wasn't calling the police was because the producer had told that he would be gone for the next day and night.

The vocalist frowned. It had been over month but he hadn't still heard anything about Yugi - and whether he would work again or not. Kaiba hadn't answered his calls so he had decided to make a personal visit only to find out that the man wasn't there. With annoyed shake of his head, the singer started to make his way towards the elevator to leave. What waste of time.

"…really? It was really him? He's really back?!" female voice broke through Yami's annoyed musings. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, he and Mr Kaiba were just eating at the Glass Box - I saw them myself!" another woman answered to the first woman, and Yami saw that it was two of Kaiba's workers who were talking. "And looks like Yugi's better too!"

_'Yugi?!'_ Yami stopped. Kaiba and Yugi had been eating… Yugi was here?! Glancing around, he quickly came to the conclusion that the two of them would probably be at the recording studio. Quickly he began making his way to the elevator with new motivation. Why Kaiba hadn't said that Yugi was coming to work? Didn't he have the right to know?

The elevator ride was the longest of his life and he almost bursted out to the corridor and half ran to Mokuba's recording studio. At the sound of song being played with piano, he slowed his steps down. There was a small crowd of people standing near the studio, listening to the music. None of them paid attention to him as he made his way to the door to see that Kaiba was sitting behind the recording table and Yugi was playing inside the Isolation Box.

Stepping quietly inside, Yami kept his eyes on Yugi. The petite artist was sitting in front of a black piano, his hands easily moving over the keys. The music he played wasn't Yugi's usual style, but it was beautiful none the less. And Yugi certainly played it like a master.

"Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2," Kaiba spoke softly. "I shouldn't be so surprised to find that Yugi has the grace for something like this. All he would need was orchestra to back him up and it would be perfect."

"It's not his own?" Yami asked quietly.

"No. He said he has heard it from somewhere," the producer glanced him. "By the sound of how he plays it… I think he has seen an orchestra," Seto turned his eyes back to the player. "He's been playing classical pieces for the last hour or so. After so many year without being able to listen to music performed with more than one instrument… I think he's enjoying playing something he didn't invent himself."

The vocalist nodded, watching how Yugi tilted his head a bit. The petite artist only did it when he was completely lost in the music. "His hearing is back then."

"Yeah. And he'll be up to working," the producer smirked. "He doesn't realise but he's playing both the piano's and the orchestra's parts. The piano part normally is difficult enough, again Yugi makes impossible seem easy. He's back to being his old inhuman self."

Yami glared at him. "You don't need to say it like that."

"But it's true. His skills are inhuman," the producer leaned back and smiled. "But I certain prefer him this way."

The vocalist frowned and turned his eyes back to the player. Yugi's hands continued to flow over the keys, bringing out the complicated, beautiful music out easily and skilfully. Small smile appeared to Yami's lips as he folded his hands. Soon they would begin working again. Soon he would be able to sing to Yugi's playing again. _'Yeah. I prefer things this way too,'_ he mused silently and sat down to listen to how the genius on the other side of the glass continued to play.

--

Happy birthday to my second born! On this day, one year ago, In Three Pieces was posted on this sight. Sorry for the long wait on this one. I have not completely forsaken In Three Pieces for the simple reason that it's almost finished. I'm deermined to write this one to the end just because of that. It might take some time, but I'm determined to do it.


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